Trump Mistakes Ex-Marine Black Supporter For Protester, Calls Him A ‘Thug’ (TWEET/VIDEO)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has a few problems when it comes to Black voters. To look at the polls, you’d wonder if there is a single Black person in the entire country who is willing to give him the time of the day. They do show up, of course. Sure, sometimes they turn out to be ex-cult members turned jazz singing GOP fanatics. Sure, sometimes they are faded celebrities who accidentally use the ‘N’ word on stage. But you know, sometimes it’s a Marine or Navy serviceman who has somehow managed to look past the debase insults, juvenile tantrums, and transparent lies of the GOP’s great orange hope.

It’s such a damn shame that Trump can’t tell one group from another.

They All Look The Same To Trump

His recent attempts at rebooting his campaign’s standing with Black people was something of a fiasco. It failed in part because it’s way too late for Trump to distance himself from close ties to White supremacy and antisemitism.

But it also failed because his image of the lives of Black people is that it is one of nasty, brutish, Dickensian squalor. Indeed, it’s so out of touch-offensive that even his plans to help struggling Black communities come across as being unforgivably racist.

It’s little wonder, then, that when Trump saw a black face at his rally in Kinston, North Carolina, his razor-sharp mind kicked in. He jumped to the kind of conclusion you’d expect from a man with less racial sensitivity than a 19th century British naval officer.

He assumed the man was a protester.

Different Strokes Of The Pen

Sixty-three-year-old ex-Marine C.J. Cary was on a mission. Though a die-hard Republican, he had been deeply shocked by some of the things Trump has said. In an effort to reason with him, he penned a letter that, according to the Charlette Observer:

“… [Urged] Trump to be less offensive and more inclusive to four demographic groups: black people, women, people with disabilities and college students.”

He never got to deliver the note.

He made his way toward the front rows shouting “Donald” and waving his document, trying to attract the nominees attention. It worked. Sort of.

“We have a protester!” Trump told the crowd, adding:

“By the way,were you paid $1,500 to be a thug?”

As the long time Republican voter was escorted from the venue he made one final attempt to get his note to the man who would be king:

“I said, ‘I was trying to get to this doc to Mr. Donald … will you get this to Donald?’”

The official promised he would pass along the note. Having been treated to some common courtesy at last, Cary set off back home to watch the election coverage with that same horrified expression that we’ve all become so accustomed to.

By the way, this wasn’t the first time a Trump supporter has been mistaken for a protester simply because he wasn’t the right color:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soXd4jLgr0g

Featured Image via Twitter

I'm a full- time, somewhat unwilling resident of the planet Earth. I studied journalism at Murdoch University in West Australia and moved back to the UK where I taught politics and studied for a PhD. I've written a number of books on political philosophy that are mostly of interest to scholars. I'm also a seasoned travel writer so I get to stay in fancy hotels for free. I have a pet Lizard called Rousseau. We have only the most cursory of respect for one another.