Trump’s perverse appeal to Blacks and Latinos 

Black and Latino men are signaling their intent to vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Polling to this effect suggests a narrative. It’s as bizarre as it is troubling. 

But they aren’t interested in Trump’s policies. They probably know nothing about them. Instead, Black and Latino men like seeing Trump act more like a wannabe mafia don than a presidential candidate. 

These men are disaffected and underemployed. They are also restive. Ironically, these Blacks and Latinos have a strange kinship with the White supremacists in Trump’s base. 

They share a perverse common cause. And it stems from the way Trump stokes racial divisions that could plunge America into a dystopia of racial conflict.

Voting for the lesser of two evils

Voting for the lesser of two evils is a familiar dilemma. But, when push comes to shove, the Democratic ticket is the only sensible choice for Blacks and Latinos.

Regardless of their disillusionment, the grim reality is they must choose between the lesser of two evils –  Democratic Biden or Republican Trump. Disruptive radicals and idealists might find this unpalatable. But politics is about comprise and the art of the possible.

Kanye West was off his meds. His apparent mental illness explained him endorsing Trump so infamously. Similarly, mental illness would be the only explanation for any Black or Latino voting for Trump. 

I get why they think Democratic presidents have not done enough for them. I don’t know why they think the answer is to vote for a Republican president, especially a documented racist like Trump. After all, Republican presidents have done nothing for them lately, and Trump is even pledging to take away the little Democrats have done. 

For example, Obama provided affordable healthcare with Obamacare; Biden achieved the lowest Black unemployment rates and facilitated the creation of more Black-owned small businesses in over 25 years. 

In contrast, as president, all Trump did for Blacks and Latinos was make the “First Step” to reducing prison sentences for incarcerated Blacks and Hispanics. This might be because he assumes that’s the thing most Blacks and Latinos care about.

Now, he is threatening to roll back voting rights for Blacks. He’s also aiming to round up Latino migrants for deportation.

That’s why any Black or Latino voting for him is akin to poor, uninsured Whites who vote for Republicans. Republicans continually deny them basic healthcare to fund tax breaks for the rich.

Democratic white privilege vs Republican tokenism

There’s no denying the lingering stench of White privilege within the Democratic Party. It reared its stinking head when Biden recommended giving Blacks and Latinos more say in the Democratic primaries. He proposed moving the first voting from the predominantly White Iowa Caucuses to the diverse South Carolina primary.

The way Iowans protested, you’d think Biden was attempting to make it as difficult to vote as Republicans are attempting to make it for Blacks. Never mind that Iowans have enjoyed the privilege of being first on the presidential nominating calendar for over 50 years.

This reeks of the same privilege. It’s like when White Republicans howled over Obama’s election as the Obama as the first Black president in US history.

On the other hand, Republicans view Blacks and Latinos as little more than pawns. The only minorities they admire are those willing to betray their own.

Consider Justice Clarence Thomas, a prime example of judicial tokenism. The reports exposing how White billionaires have used him to do their judicial bidding are worthy of Pulitzer Prizes. I mean, here was a Black justice leading the Supreme Court in rolling back voting rights and ending Affirmative Action for Blacks.  

In return, they lavished Thomas with gifts that would make any billionaire’s mistress blush. His acceptance of these gifts has Supreme Court justices considering ethical rules for themselves for the first time in US history.

And then there’s the pathetic case of Sen. Tim Scott. His only claim to fame was spouting more racist tropes than any White supremacist troll on X. Still, Whites promptly put this uppity Black in his place when they refused to give him even 1% of their vote during his fledgling and now-defunct presidential campaign. 

Cornell West: a sensible alternative to Trump

If Black and Latino voters are hell-bent on casting a protest vote, they should vote for Cornell West. After all, more than any Black man alive, he channels Malcolm X’s Black liberation activism and Caesar Chavez’s Hispanic labor activism. 

They’d be saying, “We’re disillusioned, but we’re not stupid.”