President Trump celebrated Black History Month at the White House by recounting his work to lift communities of color and memorializing the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon and Democratic presidential candidate who died earlier this week.
Mr. Trump called Mr. Jackson a “force of nature” who had great street smarts — a high compliment from the New York-born president.
“He was a piece of work, but he was a good man,” Mr. Trump said. “He was a real hero, and I just want to pay my highest respects to Rev. Jesse Jackson.
“A lot of people, you get to know them, they get worse and worse,” Mr. Trump said. “Jesse got better and better.”
Speaking to an energetic White House crowd, the president recounted how he signed legislation in his first term to ensure permanent funding for historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs.
“I like the historically Black colleges and universities, which I saved,” Mr. Trump said.
He also paid homage to Black veterans and reiterated his plan to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian honor — to Dr. Ben Carson, a famous Black surgeon and former presidential candidate who served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development in Mr. Trump’s first term.
“You’ll probably fill up this room,” Mr. Trump told Dr. Carson during the reception in the East Room.
Supporters recounted Mr. Trump’s accomplishments for Black Americans, including the approval of “opportunity zones” that draw funding to underserved areas and criminal justice reforms to overhaul penalties that had an outsized impact on people of color.
“This president hears you. This president cares for you. Don’t let anyone tell you that this president right here, Donald Trump, is not for Black America, because he is,” said Alice Marie Johnson, who received clemency from Mr. Trump for a lengthy drug sentence.
Current HUD Secretary Scott Turner, who is Black, said part of the administration’s mission is to wean people off government subsidies and live self-sufficient lives. He also lavished praise on Mr. Trump.
“When he says America first, he really does mean America first,” Mr. Turner told the crowd. “I promise you, we will continue to do good work.”
SEE ALSO: Trump praises civil rights leader Jesse Jackson upon his death: ‘A good man’
Mr. Trump is looking to bolster his standing with Black voters as the midterm elections loom.
Mr. Trump secured about 16% of the Black vote in the 2024 election, roughly doubling his share of Black support from 2020.
Polling showed that economic concerns drove voters of color, especially Black men, toward Mr. Trump as he hammered Vice President Kamala Harris over Biden-era concerns about inflation.
There are signs that support is eroding. Polling from The Economist/YouGov in August found only 11% of Black respondents approved of Mr. Trump’s job, while 84% disapproved.
Lingering economic worries seemed to drive the pessimism. Only 9% of Black voters approved of Mr. Trump’s handling of jobs and the economy, a decrease from 24% in a May poll.
Other polls from September put Mr. Trump’s approval rating among Black Americans in the 10%-to-12% range.
But Horace Cooper, chairman of the Project 21 National Advisory Board, said it is clear that Mr. Trump retains ample support among the Black community.
“It’s pretty clear the president has a lot of popularity. If this ballroom were three times or five times the size, it would be filled up,” he told The Washington Times.
He said Mr. Trump’s policies are positively impacting Black workers.
“We’re already seeing that as the unemployment rate moves slightly down, a disproportionate number of those are made up of Black Americans,” he said. “It was devastating during the Biden years for Black American employment, and you’re seeing the comeback now, and it’s pretty impressive to watch.”
Mr. Trump rose to political prominence over a decade ago by pushing the lie that President Obama was born in Africa.
He also worked to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs that were designed to lift workers of color. The administration said the DEI programs were destructive because they put issues like race above merit.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back at the suggestion by a reporter at the press briefing on Wednesday that Mr. Trump has never been falsely called a racist by his political opponents.
“You’re kidding, right? I will pull a plethora of examples. I’m going to get my team in that room to start going through the internet of radical Democrats throughout the years, who have falsely accused this president of being a racist,” she said.
“And I’m sure there are many people in this room and on network television across the country who have accused him of the same,” she said. “In fact, I know that because I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.