“Inside Donald Trump’s strategy to counter the view of many that he is ‘racist,’” the Washington Post headline reads. And if that tortured, long-winded headline language doesn’t tip you off, take it from me: this article—like any Trump effort to be seen as not racist—is a hot mess. Trump is reportedly planning to move beyond taking the stage in white areas and talking at black people, lecturing them about how screw it, they can’t be any worse off under him:
Trump is planning trips to urban areas — with stops at churches, charter schools and small businesses in black and Latino communities — and is developing an empowerment agenda based on the economy and education, aides said. Under consideration is an early September visit to Detroit, where retired neurosurgeon and former Republican primary rival Ben Carson would guide him on a tour of the impoverished neighborhoods where he grew up.
Oh, well. Maybe he’ll visit Detroit. The black vote is a done deal, then. This all seems to come from a dawning realization that maybe only getting the votes of white men isn’t the way to win a presidential election in 2016:
For Trump, the objective is twofold, according to his aides and allies. He wants to make inroads with minority voters, who polls show overwhelmingly support Clinton. He also believes that a more measured approach on race can convince white voters now shunning him — especially women — that he is not the racist that his inflammatory rhetoric might indicate.
Not mentioned in the article: all the race-baiters Trump has surrounded himself with. In fact, we learn, “Trump’s new posture is being influenced by his new campaign captains, chief executive Steve Bannon and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway,” as if Bannon’s tenure at Breitbart.com has not been characterized by appeals to racism. Also not mentioned: the Islamophobic hedge funder who helped put Bannon and Conway in place in the Trump campaign. Or the pattern of racism among lower-level staff. Or all those retweets of white supremacists coming from the candidate’s own Twitter account.
But hey, I’m sure visiting Detroit with Ben Carson will fix it.