While on the campaign trail in 2008, Barack Obama spoke intentionally about one specific idea: hope.
He instilled a resurgence of pride and change in America and we all rooted for the broader vision. That message remained when President Obama won the White House for a second term. There was still a chance and hope was still holding on.
Fast forward to 2016 and that hope is taking on a new meaning as we will soon watch “The Donald” get sworn into office and take on the title and responsibility of President of the United States.
Many of us are scared, damn-near terrified, and can only hope that the man whom we witnessed run a nasty, offensive and bigoted campaign is not the same individual who will enter and run the Free World.
Under the hashtag #TrumpNotMyPresident, there has been a collective dismissal of this reality. However, somehow, Trump has managed to line up a list of supporters who are asking the Black community to give him a chance.
Clearly, we have no choice at this point, but it’s still quite interesting to hear the arguments of those whom are now speaking out about taking it easy on the president-elect.
We questioned Omarosa’s stance with Trump, and even that of Kanye West’s. The latest to share his opinion as we head into a Trump administration is BET co-founder, Bob Johnson.
Johnson, who sold BET to Viacom in 2000, met with Trump on Sunday in New Jersey and described their conversation as a “great chat” about “business and solutions to social problems.”
During an interview with CNBC, the entertainment mogul even went as far as to say that Black people should give Donald Trump “the benefit of the doubt”–despite the fact that he tapped Steve Bannon, a white nationalist, to be his White House chief advisor.
Somewhere within lines of communication with “The Donald,” Johnson, a Democrat, was convinced this Republican administration is ready to take on issues that face the Black community. I guess as long as Trump doesn’t call Johnson “my African American,” like he did a previous supporter, it’s all good?
Because we didn’t forget that little quip either.
Part of Johnson’s reasoning with Trump is his business background. Yes, Trump is a marketer, a reality star, and his business sense, from what we’ve gathered, centers on making the rich, richer.
“Trump is a business guy and I think he’s going to tilt towards finding a way to use fiscal policy to move the economy forward for jobs and economic growth,” Johnson explained. “It’s my conclusion that we can find common ground.”
In all, Johnson concluded his point by stating that he believes this country needs someone who’s going to lead and not somebody who is going to try and force us to pick sides.
What are your thoughts on this? Sound off in the comments!