Well, it isn't really just about Donald Trump. It's about him in the position he occupies. That position is considered the most important person in the world. The most powerful person in the world is supposed to be the president. When he goes through what he went through to become the president he got my admiration because no one gave him a chance. You know, they called him names. People that called him names when he won, he reached back and brought them along with him. He held no grudges. So who am I to say I played quarterback when I played running back? I don't know everything and I don't try to address everything, but the reception that I got today from him I will always remember that because he listened to us and he knows that we can bring something to him to help the people of this country.
I don't think Trump reached back and brought along #NeverTrumpers with him. Oh sure, he dangled a very big carrot in front of Mitt Romney and instead hit him with a big stick. But I suppose everything is about appearances and people will remember that Trump invited Romney to have dinner with him even if he didn't become Secretary of State.
My take from all is that Trump is probably very charming on a one to one basis when there are no crowds around. As Trump himself said at Q&A following a rally last January in Iowa, "When I'm president I'm a different person. I can do anything. I can be the most politically-correct person that you've ever seen."
The point here is that Trump is very good at telling people what they want to hear and appearing to care about what they say. I bear no animosity towards Brown saying he had a positive experience with Trump. But if I were in his shoes I might have said, "We had a positive meeting with President-Elect Trump. He said he would bring greater opportunity to the African-American community. We hope he is true to his word and will do everything we can to make sure he keeps his word."
In other words, Trump has talked a good game. Let's see him back it up. Nothing wrong with Jim Brown keeping it positive. I just wish he said that Trump still had to earn his support. In fact, I wish that of a lot of people.
In his autobiography Fire & Ashes, former Liberal Party of Canada leader Michael Ignatieff's wrote about his father George, who was a top civil servant who worked for Mackenzie King, Canada's longest serving Prime Minister. The elder Ignatieff took notes for a meeting between King and about a dozen members of The Daughter of The Empire who were concerned about the harmful effects of pornography on Canadian soldiers serving in WWII. King told the women he had been rarely privileged to have such an important meeting. When they left his office, Ignatieff asked King what he wanted him to do. King told him tersely, "Get back to work."
Without knowing exactly what Trump said, I think he paid Brown and Lewis a lot of lip service. If Trump were to fall short and Brown were to sour on him, Trump would invariably say "I never said that" and then send out a nasty Tweet.
Honestly, I don't think Trump has any intention of improving the lives of African-Americans any more than President Obama did.
No comments:
Post a Comment