Sunday, Donald Trump was asked about a 2014 tweet saying "Sadly, because President Obama has done such a poor job as president, you won't see another black president for generations." Naturally, he
doubled down, explaining that his judgment held and that Obama ruled out another black president for decades to come:
Because I think that he has set a very poor standard. I think that he has set a very low bar and I think it's a shame for the African American people.
And by the way, he has done nothing for African Americans. You look at what's gone on with their income levels. You look at what's gone on with their youth. I thought that he would be a great cheerleader for this country. I thought he'd do a fabulous job for the African American citizens of this country.
He has done nothing.
Is this what a Republican trying to woo black voters looks like? "I'm so disappointed President Obama didn't do more for you, and you should vote for me because I would do more." That's believable! About as believable as Trump's prediction that "I will win the African-American vote."
It's also ... wow. We get one crack at a black president in generations because the first one somehow disqualified all the other black people, says a guy who has race, gender, and inherited wealth in common with George W. Bush. It's a beautiful illustration of how white men think of themselves as the norm and everyone else as a special case. White men succeed or fail for themselves as individuals while getting endless benefit of the doubt, everyone else represents their people while getting zero benefit of the doubt. This is certainly one of the upsides of having Donald Trump in the race—all the ugly stuff that's usually at least a little veiled is right there out in the open for everyone to see. If only it didn't remind us how far we have to go by appealing to so many voters.