NEWS AND OPINION:
Democratic presidential hopeful Joseph R. Biden’s “you ain’t black” remark to black voters who would consider voting for President Trump — uttered four days ago in an interview with nationally syndicated radio host Charlamagne tha God — is still rattling the political landscape and prompting some to suggest Mr. Trump could benefit, despite Mr. Biden later apology.
“Biden reelected Trump last Friday. The former vice president’s patronizing remark was no jest and it was fatal to his campaign,” writes David Catron, a columnist for The American Spectator.
Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, tweeted: “1.3 million black Americans already voted for Trump in 2016. Joe Biden told every single one of us we ’ain’t black.’ I’d say I’m surprised, but it’s sadly par for the course for Democrats to take the black community for granted and brow beat those that don’t agree.”
Mr. Trump’s reelection campaign also points out that its outreach group Black Voices for Trump has staged an online forum to address Mr. Biden’s comment.
“The history books will reflect President Trump’s unprecedented contributions to the black community by uplifting black families and creating job opportunities across the country,” observed T.W. Shannon, an Trump campaign adviser and CEO of Oklahoma-based Chickasaw Community Bank.
“As the first black speaker of the House in Oklahoma, I refuse to let Beijing Biden relentlessly use his liberal privilege to tell me who I am, or who I should be and get away with it,” said Mr. Shannon.
“Joe Biden has no respect for African American voters who think independently and wants to control our community like the Democrats have been doing for decades,” he said.
Fellow campaign adviser Ken Blackwell, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, said “the choice in this election could not be clearer. While President Trump has created opportunity and prosperity within the black community, Joe Biden promotes and defends the status quo of poverty and marginalization.”
Katrina Pierson, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, also had an observation.
“While Joe Biden’s incessant record of racism has never been vetted by the mainstream media conglomerates, we will no longer let white liberal elitists or the fake news media define what it means to be black in this country,” Ms. Pierson said.
A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT STAT
The media is quick to squawk about any poll which suggests the aforementioned Joe Biden will win the election. Here’s a promising survey for President Trump, however.
A new Economist/YouGov poll conducted May 17-19 finds that 44% of Americans predict a Trump victory, compared to 32% expecting a Biden win. Consult the Poll du Jour at column’s end for the partisan breakdown, and also what men and women have to say.
THE IVY COVERED HALLS
The nation’s college and university students are not standing by silently when it comes to the quality of their education.
Harvard University has now been hit with in a class-action lawsuit with a demand for a jury trial, filed by students upset with the school’s failure to refund the cost of tuition and mandatory fees after classes were forced online on March 23 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The campus is not the only one in this situation.
“This makes Harvard at least the fourth Ivy League school to be targeted for failing to reimburse educational costs, following Brown, Columbia, and Cornell. The school is facing a $5 million federal class-action lawsuit. Students chose to pursue legal action as a result of not having received the benefit of in-person instruction or equivalent access to university facilities and services,” writes Maria Copeland, an analyst for Campus Reform.
“The online learning options being offered to Harvard students are subpar in practically every aspect and a shadow of what they once were, including the lack of facilities, materials, and access to faculty,” their lawsuit reads. “Students have been deprived of the opportunity for collaborative learning and in-person dialogue, feedback, and critique.”
The undergraduate tuition at Harvard, by the way, is approximately $23,865 per semester, according to the lawsuit. At Harvard Business School it’s $36,720 for the semester; at Harvard Law School it is $32,937.
WHAT’S ANOTHER $4 BILLION?
Lawmakers will have another item on their laundry list of demands when they return to work on Tuesday. A trio of progressive organizations plan to demand an increase in “election assistance funding” for mail-in or early in-person voting.
Stand Up America, Let America Vote/End Citizens United and Indivisible — will formally demand Tuesday that election assistance funding be a non-negotiable part of the next COVID-19 relief bill.
“The three grassroots organizations — among the largest progressive advocacy groups in the country focused on democracy reform — will demand that the Senate meet House Democrats’ allocation of an additional $3.6 billion in election assistance in the HEROES Act. A total of $4 billion in funding would provide all states the resources needed to implement vote-by-mail, guarantee no-excuse absentee ballots, provide safe in-person voting, extend early voting, and ensure online voter registration,” the organizers said in a statement.
They are not alone, and the issue does not appear to be going away at any time soon. The three groups were among 50 voting-rights groups that previously sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to include election assistance funding for states.
POLL DU JOUR
• 44% of U.S. adults say President Trump will win reelection; 88% of Republicans, 40% of independents and 14% of Democrats agree.
• 40% of women and 48% of men also agree.
• 32% overall say Joseph R. Biden will win the 2020 election; 4% of Republicans, 21% of independents and 66% of Democrats agree.
• 33% of women and 30% of men also agree.
• 25% are not sure who will win; 8% of Republicans, 39% of independents and 20% of Democrats agree.
• 27% of women and 22% of men also agree.
Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,497 U.S. adults conducted May 17-19.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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