The word of the day is “discernment,” which is the ability to judge well. That’s my takeaway from Thursday night’s presidential debate: It was a true test of the public’s discerning fact from fiction.
Whether the masses can see through former President Donald Trump’s bravado and his cascade of lies. Whether they could hear the whisper of democratic principles — potentially the last ever from a sitting president — in Joe Biden’s raspy voice over the blaring and disorienting sounds of MAGA bigotry.
That’s what came to mind as I listened to Trump’s racist comments about immigrants purportedly taking “Black jobs,” which came in response to a question about some Black voters feeling left behind.
Here’s the quote:
The fact is that his big kill on the Black people is the millions of people that he’s allowed to come in through the border. They’re taking Black jobs now — and it could be 18, it could be 19 and even 20 million people. They’re taking Black jobs, and they’re taking Hispanic jobs, and you haven’t seen it yet, but you’re gonna see something that’s going to be the worst in our history.
To be clear, that is not a fact. The “Black jobs” remark is a false claim that aligns with Trump’s strategy of pitting Black people against immigrants. And it was just one of several big, Black lies (as opposed to the little white ones) and misleading claims Trump spun about himself and Black folks Thursday.
For example:
- He touted past support for historically Black colleges and universities, even though it was the Biden administration — not Trump’s — that authorized historic funding for HBCUs. (Trump, for the record, has threatened HBCU presidents with investigations if he’s elected and discovers they didn’t back him this November.)
- Trump called his administration’s support for “opportunity zones” in underprivileged neighborhoods “one of the most successful economic development acts ever in the country,” despite several reports finding they failed to deliver meaningful results for these communities.
- Trump repeated his false claim that he handed Biden a perfect economy, which he said the Biden administration has ruined with inflationary policies that harm Black people. (Experts predict that Trump’s tariff plan would cause inflation to skyrocket.)
- He blamed inflation, which he said is “killing” Black people, on Biden, despite multiple reports showing Trump’s Covid-era policies played a role in spiking inflation, too.
When asked about what he has done and will do for Black voters, Biden’s responses were more substantive: He talked about lowering child care costs; his (actual) record on supporting HBCUs; his proposed tax credits for housing; his administration’s success in promoting Black business ownership, lowering Black unemployment and significantly cutting the rate of Black people without health insurance — and he vowed to do more if re-elected.
These exchanges about Black folks were emblematic of the whole debate: Biden offered sane responses (albeit with less vigor than some wanted) and Trump blathered and boasted about unhinged nonsense. Despite whatever others may think, the former beats the latter every time.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.