President Donald Trump lashed out against Jay-Z on Sunday, after the rapper and entrepreneur criticized Trump’s attitude and actions regarding race.
In an interview on CNN’s “The Van Jones Show” that aired Saturday night, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, said Trump’s reported “shithole countries” comments added to a worsening climate of racism in America. “It really is hurtful, more so,” he said. “Like, everyone feels anger, but after the anger it’s really hurtful, because he’s looking down on a whole population of people, and he’s so misinformed because these places have beautiful people and have beautiful everything. Like, this is the leader of the free world speaking like this.”
Jay-Z said instead of eliminating racism, America for years pushed the issue below the surface, where it festered and grew more powerful.
"Everyone feels anger, but after the anger it's really hurtful. … he's looking down on a whole population of people, and he's so misinformed," JAY-Z slams Trump's "shithole" comment.
Van Jones kicks off his new show at 7pm ET with the hip hop star. https://t.co/ri68FSfaup pic.twitter.com/icLx1ZYvch
— CNN (@CNN) January 27, 2018
“You don’t take the trash out. You keep spraying whatever over it to make it acceptable and then, you know, as those things grow, then you create a superbug. And then now we have Donald Trump, the superbug.”
Trump fired back with a tweet Sunday morning: “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!”
In fact, CNN’s Van Jones did ask Jay-Z about the falling rate of black unemployment, and if it’s OK for Trump “to say terrible things but put money in our pockets.”
“It’s not about money at the end of the day,” Jay-Z answered. “Money doesn’t equate to happiness. It doesn’t. That’s missing the whole point. . . . You treat people like human beings. That’s the main point.”
While the black unemployment rate did fall to a record low last year, to 6.8%, it was a continuation of a trend that started under the Obama administration, when it fell from 12.7% to 7.8%. Trump did not specify which of his policies helped lower that rate. The black unemployment rate is still higher than the overall jobless rate. (Mike Murphy)
