That Gotcha Moment!

 The recent announcement of Ice Cube's involvement with the Trump administration has created an uproar in the African American community. On the eve of the 2020 election, this discovery reveals that the Trump Administration has pulled out all of the stops trying to pry black voters from the Democratic Party. In the process, the Trump campaign has found a way to increase the wedges between rich and poor, educated and less educated, and the male, female and non-gendered. And the ensuing controversy overshadows several key elements. Foremost, Trump is willing to do anything to win, but he is just as willing to find a way to maintain white supremacy and white dominance in American society. Secondly, is that the ranks of African American leadership are more fragmented than they have been since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

African Americans should not doubt that Donald Trump has again enabled white supremacists by furthering and creating new tensions within the black community. They should recognize that the Republican Party's failure to see the Breonna Taylor case as a grave injustice gives greater license to whites and the power structure to kill black and brown people. They should understand that advertisements against politicians who favor criminal justice reform, bail reform, and defunding the police may be directed towards those fearing black and brown people.

As I have recently suggested, it is very unlikely that President Trump is going to help African Americans in a second term. Yet, more and more African Americans are visible in Trump rallies and advertisements. Sadly, they are given a prominent camera angle so that they can be seen by the world as they proclaim their loyalty wearing shirts that state: "Blacks for Trump", and "Latinos for Trump."

Since his recent COVID recovery and return to active campaigning, Donald Trump has continually insulted blacks on a daily basis. Although his strongest venom is directed towards black women, the president is still casting dog whistles towards young black men and telling white audiences, particularly white women, that he is protecting suburbia from black criminals. So why would black men, especially wealthy black men and celebrities, support Team Trump if he is directly or indirectly associating them with crime and calling black women dogs and monsters?

Let's not forget that since 2016, black women have taken a visible and central position in the Democratic Party. It started with Stacey Abrams and it yielded Kamala Harris. Black women played pivotal roles in key state elections and in the 2020 presidential primaries. Joe Biden's decision to select a woman of color to balance the ticket is a testimony to this relationship and the power of the black female voter. So why wouldn't black men support the Biden-Harris ticket? Biden was willing to serve as vice president to Obama, and now he is willing to groom a future presidential candidate. What are black men broadcasting in their rejection of Biden and Harris?

Psychologists, journalists, and other scholars have recently written several articles on this phenomena. Academic forums have begun to look at the Trump impact on black and brown males. Their conclusions are not positive. Once again there is a negative depiction of black men, being labeled as ignorant and uneducated, trying to find and express the freedoms they believe are held solely by whites. It suggests that little has changed due to centuries of subjugation and oppression. The emerging narrative is that Trump, a white man, actually realizes what rappers promote. That black and brown men envy Trump and desire his macho aura.

President Trump is banking on this characterization and hopes that his image will lure African Americans and Latino males to the Republican ticket. His goal is to get 35% of the non-white vote, and he is relying on the immaturity of media savvy black and brown celebrities and some black and brown evangelicals to sway public opinion. Along with Kanye West, Lil' Wayne, Herschel Walker, Bob Johnson, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and Shaq, Ice Cube have shown interest to be associated with Team Trump. 

Is there a better way to destroy a coalition than to destroy role models that generations have looked up to and admired? What better way to destroy racial pride by pitting groups of blacks against each other?The Republicans have done this to Latinos for years, but do have some prominent Latino politicians in their ranks. In contrast, this is not the case with blacks and the Republicans. There are less than a handful of prominent black Republican politicians, and white Republicans dominate states with large black populations. And, President Trump has destroyed those black Republicans who have challenged his authority. (Does anyone remember Congresswoman Mia Love of Utah?) Why would any blacks trust him or vote for him? Do black male celebrities flocking to the Republican ticket believe that Trump is going to help black people or are they self-interested, simply looking for a tax cut or other economic opportunities?

The answers to these questions are highlighted in scholarly debates. The destruction of the black male is occurring in words and print. It forces the victims to defend the indefensible. In a series of interviews, Ice Cube emerged as one of these victims. He has been attacked on black radio, television and in social media. Ice Cube has denied that he was working directly with the Republican Party. Instead, he suggested a conduit between his Contract With Black America and the Platinum Plan. The Contract with Black America is a document that Ice Cube and several associates composed as a platform to address the problems affecting the black community. It was initially reported that after learning about the Contract, both parties reached out to Ice Cube to discuss the document. Subsequently Ice Cube stated that he offered the contract to both political parties and only the Republicans showed interest. Yet, Ice Cube has stressed that the Republicans were only going to consider it after the election. This "quid quo pro" suggests that only if blacks supported Trump would he consider the Contract. 

So who did Ice Cube talk to? He hasn't really conveyed that information in a clear manner. The full story remains fuzzy and hazy. Should we believe that the Platinum Plan lifted points from the Contract?  Should we believe that Ice Cube did not know that he was negotiating with the Trump campaign? Should we believe that Ice Cube is naive? What one can admit is that a close reading of the Contract indicates that it is very different from the Trump Platinum Plan.  

The entire story is problematic on several levels. It is not clear why Ice Cube and his associates composed the document and is also not clear why he expected the presidential political structures to take him seriously. Despite his artistic achievements many still see Ice Cube as the angry young man in NWA. He hasn't been deeply involved in organized politics and his charitable activities are not widely promoted. Outside of his California base, Ice Cube is well known but not as a social activist. 

The Contract is a multi-page document, a sophisticated plan that was introduced in July 2020. It received attention from the black press and was highlighted in Black Enterprise. Yet, in the streets it arrived with little fanfare.  The Contract calls for reparations, economic empowerment, justice reform, police reform, Hollywood reform, and a call for America to live up to its promise. It called America a rigged system, which told a big lie that blacks were progressing. The Contract is an indictment of America and white American society.

Playing historian, it is important to keep in mind the timing of the Contract's release. In July, crowds were in the streets of most cities. They were continuously protesting and chanting "Black Lives Matter." The Contract's bullet points fly in the face of President Trump's pre-COVID infection and post-COVID infection rally conversations.  They also contrast with recent comments of Jared Kushner, the Special Assistant to the President. Since June, the administration has gone so far as to label BLM a terrorist organization that wants to kill the police. At the same time, Jared Kushner has insinuated that African Americans are lazy and don't want to work to be successful. 

So why would the Republicans want to see the Contract or talk to Ice Cube? There is only one reason - to attract voters. However, the Platinum Plan was not released in July but rather months later in September. The Trump camp may have looked at Ice Cube's efforts but they were not interested or impressed. Rather, from all accounts, it seems like the Republicans used Ice Cube to garner positive attention. And now while the campaign basks in its achievement, Ice Cube is forced to defend himself and "clear" his reputation. Given Trump's support for law enforcement and his criticisms of the George Floyd protestors, the "F the Police" artist is losing his street credibility by talking to, working with and/or supporting the Republicans. 

The obvious tragedy is that Team Trump won the battle and the war. Ice Cube's argument was proven - the system is rigged - he is its victim. In reality, it is equally difficult to see the Contract influencing the Republican Party or even Trump's Platinum Plan. The Platinum Plan is not even a weak draft of the Contract.

The moral of this story is that Ice Cube was not ready to enter the political sphere and work with the Trumps. However, the Trumps could exploit his efforts and expose him as a "fraud". And in doing so they could wreck havoc and discord in the black community.  And in the process, they might secure the votes they need. Ice Cube was not the sole traitor to the black women's rise in the Democratic Party. Over the weekend, 50 Cent denounced Joe Biden's tax plan and announced that he was going to vote for Trump. A day later, Latino rapper Lil Pump also denounced the Democrats tax plan and joined the Trump bandwagon. 

The fitting closure to the story is a tweeted picture by Eric Trump of Ice Cube and 50 Cent together wearing red "Trump 2020" hats. The caption read "two great courageous Americans". Within minutes both Ice Cube and 50 Cent responded to the photograph and disavowed their allegiance to Team Trump. Hours later the tweet and apparently doctored picture was removed. 

Meanwhile Team Trump is smiling and counting votes! Gotcha!