It will come as no surprise to learn that the Trump administration has a problem with diversity. The president who ran his campaign on open white nationalism and disgusting xenophobia has made that repulsive ideology an animating force of his administration, and it’s reflected in his team.
From top to bottom, whiteness is the defining feature. There’s only one non-white person in his cabinet — HUD secretary Ben Carson — and even the White House interns are suspiciously monochromatic in their appearance.
The White House intern photo is like a Where’s Waldo for a non-white person—in a country that is about 40% non-white. pic.twitter.com/UiBLewAurE
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) March 31, 2018
Trump campaign adviser Katrina Pierson was challenged on that issue this Sunday by the Reverend Al Sharpton on an MSNBC panel, calling out Trump for ignoring people of color in his decision making and excluding them from the decisions that affect all the people in this country.
“Historically, Republicans and Democrats have had major figures of the black community in the West Wing as part of their senior staff and administration…Who are the blacks in the West Wing under President Trump?” demanded Sharpton of Pierson.
Pierson, an infamous lickspittle who will defend Trump on any and every possible issue, no matter how absurd the defense might be, argued that there were plenty of people of color who were offered jobs in the White House but they turned them down.
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That in itself is actually believable, since working for a racist like Trump would be understandably unpalatable to all but the most selfishly ambitious.
When Sharpton called her out for appearing “nervous,” she got irritated and declared that “I’m not going to participate if you’re going to continue to paint this president as racist…There’s plenty of black people in the West Wing.”
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When Sharpton asked that she name them, she snapped and went full “whataboutism” in her ridiculous effort to dance around the truth: “I’m not going to participate in the attempt to make this all about race. It’s ridiculous. How many black people were in Abraham Lincoln’s West Wing? Is Abraham Lincoln a racist because he didn’t have a black person in the White House? The this is insane. This is an insane discussion.”
.@KatrinaPierson after being asked about black representation in Trump's West Wing:
"How many black people were in Abraham Lincoln’s West wing… Is Abraham Lincoln a racist because he didn't have a black person in the White House"
Welcome to 2020 everyone. pic.twitter.com/TMB2F640a3
— Kelsie Taggart (@kelsientaggart) March 11, 2019
First off, the West Wing wasn’t built until 1902. But more importantly, as social media users were quick to point out, there were no black people in Abraham Lincoln’s West Wing because he was racist.
https://twitter.com/aravosis/status/1105160083120537602
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“Is Abraham Lincoln a racist because he didn't have a black person in his West Wing?” He was racist for holding the beliefs that blacks shouldn’t be allowed to hold office, marry whites, or vote. While Lincoln carried out progressive action, he was still a white man in the 1800s https://t.co/i82h3Gog1M
— Sara Edwards (@thesarajedwards) March 11, 2019
Sharpton brought down the hammer on her for it:
“You can’t name a black in the West Wing because we can’t find one, Katrina. I pity you. I’d sympathize with you, but telling me you applied, and other people…? Come on. It’s unthinkable in the 21st century that even a spokesperson for President Trump can’t name a black in the West Wing.”
If Pierson had scraped the bottom of the barrel any further her knuckles would be bloody and covered in splinters. It’s truly disturbing to see how deep into the realm of delusion that Trump and his cultist sycophants will go in order to excuse what is obviously racism and discrimination at the highest levels of our government.
