This year, Donald Trump has made waves by spending a lot of money, getting on a stage in front of CNN cameras and essentially saying, “how hard can this president thing be, really?” What started as a funny joke to anybody who seriously kept up with politics quickly turned into a good idea for middle aged people who are confused and scared that the staff at their local Wendy’s are speaking to each other in Spanish while they prepare the consumer’s four large number 10 combos after a long day of buying their children clothes at the Abercrombie and Fitch at the other side of the mall. The same for community college freshman who heard their fathers talk about how Trump is a great businessman at dinner that one night once he became the focus of the 2016 election.
At this year’s VMAs, which will go down in history for one pop star calling out another pop star for ???, Kanye West made an impassioned speech about how the entertainment industry is taking the passion out of art for money and how American society is destroying the passion and happiness of the youth. He concluded his 11 minute speech with an announcement that he was going to run for president in 2020.
Kanye’s announcement circled social media immediately with BuzzFeed articles like “21 Things That Would Definitely Happen If Kanye Were President,” talking about how DJ Khaled and Kris Jenner would naturally be employees of the executive branch. Likewise, articles written by entertainment writers on various media websites were filled with GIFs of famous rappers “reacting” to his speech, as well as descriptive titles like “Watch Now, Bro!”
I’m not sure if Kanye is serious about his presidential bid. I don’t think anybody is. I’m not sure if Trump was serious before he started getting backing either. But the dichotomy between the two, both entertainers and businessmen with absolutely zero political experience is indicative of inherent racism in America. As the old white man can gain serious support and news coverage, but the black man is still the sideshow meant for the entertainment section.
Many will dismiss this by saying that Trump is a more legitimate businessman who has more genuine platforms than Kanye has.
Let’s compare the two.
Trump’s corporation has declared bankruptcy four separate times. He has also been cut from his television show, The Apprentice on account of his comments against Mexicans earlier in his campaign.
Kanye has won 21 Grammys and has three platinum albums, as well as a double and two triple platinum albums. He also has several fashion lines under his belt, which are separate from the various collaborations he’s done with other companies.
While Kanye’s only platform was detailed in his campaign announcement speech, Trump’s official campaign website only has a drop down tab for “immigration reform” under his “positions tab.” If Trump is qualified to run on a platform of hating Mexicans and wanting them out of his country, Kanye is just as qualified to run on a platform of wanting the American ideals that teach hate to go away.
I don’t think Trump would make a good president. I don’t think Kanye would make a good president. But I believe the fact that there are people out there who genuinely think that Trump would make a good president, much less considering voting for him is the most evident sign that racism in America has a platform in this day. Trump’s single platform is just xenophobia masqueraded as love for the American capitalist, who is that much more deserving of working in America than the Mexican, who has been lied to for all their life that America is a land of opportunity for people of all cultures.
Trump is no longer a joke. Trump is a symbol. A return to extreme conservatism and Christianity that is dormant in the political system and finally has somebody to turn to, who isn’t afraid of being called on their racism by the media. But you would think that with all the appealing to those who use religion to hate, Trump would at the very least be able to recite a bible verse for the people, but he couldn’t even manage to do that.
Don’t let anybody tell you that racism is more capable than passion to lead this nation.
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