You just can’t make this stuff up.
Seeing that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is in fourth place with African-American voters, Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence decided to do something about it.
A typical politician would try to develop policies that would positively affect the African-American community. That way they would have a concrete reason to show up and vote for you in November.
Mike Pence is obviously not your typical politician. In Norristown, Pennsylvania, Pence decided to stop by a black-owned barbershop to get his hair cut. Of course, he brought the media along so they could see him interacting with people who aren’t white.
It was supposed to be a moment of recognition. Where Pence, and by proxy the Trump campaign, said to the African-American community:
“Hey we are thinking about you and are serious about your needs.”
What happened next was just poetic justice. Not even a reality TV producer could have scripted it any better.
After finishing Pence’s haircut, the African-American barber looked straight into his eyes and said:
“Your name was?”
There are two possible scenarios here. One being that the barber, Henry Jones, genuinely had no idea who Mike Pence was. The other being that Jones knew exactly who Mike Pence was and decided to throw him an epic amount of shade while on camera.
Neither of these scenarios looks good for the Trump campaign which has had issues from the start with African-American voters. It’s kind of hard not to have issues when you have failed to denounce white supremacists who have voiced their approval of your campaign. Even worse is when you then align yourself with Breitbart, their media outlet of choice.
Of course Pence, ever the politician, tried to save the encounter by introducing himself. He told Jones his name and that he was running for Vice President of the United States. Jones responded by saying:
“Go ahead, man. Vice president? Oh boy.”
Pence then responded by adding that he was running alongside Donald Trump to which Jones commented:
“OK. All right. Oh boy.”
Oh boy is right. Never have we had people running for office who have so blatantly catered to minorities in an insincere and fake way. The Republican ticket running to win the White House is like the last gasp of air for people who want to return to the 1950’s America where whites were firmly in power.
No amount of barbershop haircuts will be able to make us forget that fact.
Here is the video of Mike Pence’s awkward exchange with the African-American barber Henry Jones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icNWeUikFko
Featured image via YouTube video.
