Editor’s note: The following column is satire.
Fox News host Jesse Watters found himself in hot water after saying former President Donald Trump’s arrest increased his popularity among Black Americans.
“The mug shot has breathed new life into the Trump campaign and broadened his appeal to Black Americans. The mugshot is up on the side of buildings in the inner city. The 2016 phenomenon is happening all over again,” Watters said.
The mural in question was mocking Trump, as evidenced by the artist’s alternative interpretation of MAGA: “My Ass Got Arrested.”
Watters went on to say, “Trump won that election because of a laser-like focus on the forgotten man. A bond was formed back then that can never be broken, and there’s a new forgotten man, the Black man. Democrats have forgotten about them.”
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Watters was attacked for suggesting that the Black man has only recently been mistreated in America, but his critics are ignoring the growing sentiment in academic communities that Black people have been privileged since the country’s inception.
This idea most recently came to the public eye when the Florida Board of Education voted to teach about how slavery was actually good for Black people. Florida wants its students to know about the lucrative retirement plans that enslaved people received. The plans were so good, they drew in more people to plantations, resumes in hand, begging for a role in the fields.
Watters was heavily scrutinized by those who believed his comments were racist. Some even suggested that it’s an early contender for Fox News’ “Most Racist Statement” award, to be presented after David Duke receives his Lifetime Achievement award.
The negative reactions to Watters’ comments are fueled by a lack of understanding of our current political reality. Watters is correct, and his comments show a deeply nuanced understanding of the Black community that’s going to help Republicans in upcoming elections.
Black Americans don’t want reparations or voting rights protection; they want airbrushed T-shirts of Trump’s mugshot next to a cup of lean. They want shirts that show Trump smoking weed with Steve Urkel and Bernie Mac. The Trump campaign is working hard to make both of those shirts a reality.
Republicans know that the Black community isn’t concerned with substantive efforts to combat the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. They’d rather see a candidate star in a rap music video.
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Trump’s campaign is working on turning him into a “hood hero” or a “block legend,” much like rappers Chief Keef or King Von. Trump has been on Chicago’s famous housing project “O Block” every day, handing out “Lock Her Up” chains and his debut mixtape “Free the Guys.” The cover of the album features the mugshots of other rappers alongside him, with Martin Luther King Jr.’s mugshot placed in the middle.
His lines are an interesting combination of typical rap tropes combined with conservative talking points. For instance, in the intro to the album he says “Trapping in the Oval Office, I can send you packs. Try to come ‘cross the border, I’ll send you back.” Later in the album, he raps, “Big T strapped, I don’t play ‘bout the tool. When I’m back, swear I’ll take the drag out the school,” and “You learning how to be fly, like pilot training. My chain so icy I don’t care ‘bout the climate changing.”
It’s been rumored that Trump has ditched his old hairstyle for a fade, and he’s been trying to get waves in his hair by wearing a durag all day. Some have even floated the idea that he’s in consideration for an N-word pass.
Watters is right; Trump is becoming more popular in the Black community. Republicans have claimed that they’re going to win a significant portion of the Black vote in every election, but this time it’s true. Trump’s new strategy will garner Black support that hasn’t been seen since former President Barack Obama.
Frank Kidd is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Springfield, Virginia.
