According to musician John Legend, former president Trump is racist “to his core.”
Speaking with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, the All Of Me crooner discussed Trump’s handling of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that followed George Floyd’s death in 2020.
“He was pushing for the military to shoot us in the streets when we protested George Floyd’s death. He has never hidden his belief that black people are less than white throughout his life. He genuinely feels that in his bones”, Legend claimed.
Trump reportedly asked officials in 2020 if they might shoot demonstrators in the legs amid the nationwide upheaval, according to then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper. The Wall Street Journal was reportedly informed by Gen. Mark Milley, the 2020 Joint Chiefs of Staff chair, that Trump’s idea for law enforcement to deal with demonstrators was to “crack their skulls.”
Trump has been accused of racism both before and during his time in politics. He began his campaign in 2016 by labeling immigrants as criminals and “racists,” and he made the assumption that because of his past convictions, “the black people” value him more.
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In February, Trump stated in South Carolina, “And a lot of people said that’s why the black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I am being discriminated against. It’s been really great, but maybe, just maybe, there is something there.”
John Legend also mentioned how, according to an FBI report from 2017, Trump would not rent out apartments in his buildings to black Americans.
Trump “believes in a genetic hierarchy of humanity, and it’s racially determined,” according to Legend.
This election year, Trump—who is running for a second term in office—has been courting black votes. He visited the annual banquet of the Black Conservative Federation in February, and he made hints about selecting a black running partner.
Furthermore, according to Trump, he was the greatest president for African Americans. He has cited the black unemployment rate that was reduced under his presidency, the financing of historically black schools and universities, and the criminal justice reform that was implemented.
John, however, batted down these remarks, citing Trump’s prior calls for the immediate shooting of shoplifters, especially those that touted his achievements in criminal justice reform.
According to John Legend, “He is a tried-and-true, born-again racist. He’s racist in his core. I’m not interested in listening to him discuss his accomplishments on behalf of black people. In addition to having done very little for us, he is fundamentally a racist”.
John Legend, who supported President Biden during his 2020 campaign, declared that the decision between the two candidates is “very clear” and that he would return to the campaign trail later this year.
However, senior advisor to the Trump campaign, Lynne Patton, disagreed and said in a statement.
“You show me someone who truly feels that black people are less than human at their core, and I’ll show you Joe Biden.” He went on to say that “I am old enough to recall Joe Biden’s statements on the Senate floor in 1993, when he claimed that black people were ‘predators’ who were incapable of rehabilitation, or when he stated that he didn’t want his children attending school in a ‘racial jungle,’ or that black parents ‘couldn’t read or write'”.
