Trump Reveals Unfulfilled Promises as Biden’s Prosperity Remains a Mirage
The Black Conservative Federation Gala held in Columbia, South Carolina, in February 2024 bore witness to the antics of an erstwhile U.S. President, Donald Trump. And yet again with the grace of a bulldozer in a china shop, Trump claimed that illegal immigrants were usurping ‘Black jobs.’ Markus Batchelor, a political director serving People For the American Way, sharply criticized Trump, comparing his broken promises for the Black community, to the workers at his construction sites who were handed faulty checks.
In a rather dramatic outburst during his presidential argument against former President Joe Biden, on June 27, 2024, Trump warned Black voters of the peril looming over their occupational prospects. Painting a vivid picture of a future where an influx of 18, 19, or even 20 million undocumented immigrants could deprive Black Americans of their jobs, Trump stirred controversy. His claims were widely rejected by advocates and Democrats as unfounded and racially divisive.
Despite the backlash, Trump ran his campaign on the same narrative. Trump, during one of his infamous dialogues, exclaimed how throngs of immigrants coming over the border were ‘invading’ and ‘taking Black jobs.’ His words, unsurprisingly, were greeted with gasps of disbelief from the Black reporters present in the room.
As time passed, Trump’s threats against illegal immigration came to life with the implementation of extensive deportations. However, the promise of reviving the Black job market remained unfulfilled. Recent reports regarding Black unemployment rates suggest an opposite scenario with figures similar to those during the peaks of the 2021 COVID-19 pandemic.
Batchelor, re-iterating his critique, blamed Trump for the predicaments faced by the Black community. His deportations have done nothing to benefit Black people. Instead, unemployment rates have risen, reaching as high as 7.2%, higher than the overall U.S. population. The American dream promised by Trump, appears, based on these figures, to be further out of reach than ever.
The influence of concerning economic policies, namely Trump’s tariff program, bears a portion of the blame for the rising Black unemployment rates. The program, economic experts argue, fosters uncertainty among investors and is potentially causing an increase in the prices of goods.
Moreover, federal job cuts by Trump affected tens of thousands of workers, disrupting the balance of the already precarious Black job market. According to Batchelor, Trump’s actions were most detrimental to people working in fields traditionally dominated by Black workers, such as farming and federal employment.
Batchelor went on to illustrate how despite claims of immigrants taking ‘Black jobs,’ Trump’s own policies had resulted in a greater decrease in employment within the Black community. These included cutting support for farmers, laying off federal workers, and restricting businesses from diversifying their workforce.
In the view of Jamarr Brown, Trump did not fulfill his promises of working towards an increase in wages. Instead, his term led to the elimination of jobs and battles against labor unions, the stalwarts of worker protection and dignity.
Brown identified the striking feature of Trump’s term: an anti-diversity, equity, and inclusivity agenda. His policies consistently reduced opportunities and appeared uninterested in fostering an inclusive financial agenda.
Brown claimed that Trump’s emphasis on ‘Black jobs’ during his 2024 campaign was nothing more than a political tactic, a ‘campaign gimmick’ aimed at swaying the Black community with misinformation. He intended to discredit the previous administration and falsely present his campaign as the savior of the Black community.
Refuting Trump’s narrative, Brown emphasized how the previous administration had significantly invested in the welfare of the Black community. He argued that this reality refutes Trump’s misinformation about the absence of financial support for the Black community from prior administrations.
Following a discouraging jobs report indicating a mere addition of 73,000 new jobs, Trump pointed fingers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner, Erika McEntarfer. He blamed McEntarfer for falsifying economic data but offered no evidence to support such accusations.
Without a blink, Trump relieved McEntarfer of her duties. He used this situation to stifle truth and potentially manipulate facts about the country’s present economic status. What’s alarming, as per critics, is the larger implications for the transparency and integrity of data under his administration.
The grim reality of the current economic scenario points to the stark contrast between promises made and outcomes delivered by Trump. The suppression of essential economic data under the guise of supposed inaccuracies makes the situation all the more precarious.
Given these existing conditions, it’s a valid question whether the focus of the next administration will align with the needs of the U.S citizenry. What the nation needs now more than ever is a leader willing to take responsibility, fostering transparency and accountability while working to create an inclusive and robust economy.