There was a distinct rise in the number of men of color who voted for Trump last election, and it is an upsetting reality that they felt Trump was representative of their wants and needs. I’ve talked about this with friends and family, read articles, and still cannot fully grasp how any person of color can vote so wholly against their interest and for a white supremacist or someone who’s admirable of white supremacist ideals. Maybe the term “not fully grasp” isn’t entirely accurate. I’m more astonished by the reasoning behind voting for him and, plainly, curious.
Conservatives that are outside of the typical straight white Christian male trope have been on the rise in the last several years. From personalities like Milo Yiannopolis to Diamond & Silk, it has been nothing short of a hellish mystery how these people were drawn to such a dark side of politics. It’s a mysetery that isn’t so mysterious if the main goal is money and/or attention, but it is an abysmal characterization that one could so completely discard morals for money. Then I think about corporations and how humanity is disregarded everyday in exchange for billions of dollars and a bit of my anger with them gets redirected to a society that often rewards profit over safety and scoffs at altruism. I start spiraling thinking of the many facets of greed that have gotten us to where we are today, but I digress.
Like many of society’s countless faults, the draw of Trumpism for people of color, specifically black people, is complicated. Though it’s tempting to lump every black person who voted for Trump into the you crazy category, it’s interesting to see how disillusionment and propaganda can influence people. I think this is especially important to take a look at now considering how white Democratic leaders have praised black people for “saving” the country while simultaneously clinging onto the status quo. More black people are becoming impatient with slow progress and feeling taken for granted by the party. It’s sentiments like these that are preyed upon by radical conservatives to draw more people of color to their awful ranks. When Democratic leaders say things like you ain’t black if you don’t vote for me, it is insulting and alienating. It’s also tiring to be spoken to and talked about as if we are a monolith and to place the burden of saving the party on an entire race of people. I am by no means hopping over to join the Republican party, but I think it’s healthy to examine why some of us may not feel exceptionally loyal to the Democratic party, because winning these past vital elections does not guarantee the future. I don’t foresee any sort of crazy exodus, but disappointment after disappointment does sow seeds of doubt.
This was one reason some black people decided to vote for Trump in the last election. It was a form of defiance towards a party who assumed had their vote. While a significantly larger number of black people voted for Biden (including meee), conservatives seized the opportunity to push that narrative, especially black conservatives. We saw many predominant black conservatives use the Trump presidency to grow their base, quickly assuaging the guilt of white people. This resulted in a dangerous resistance to even admit white supremacy exists among other things. Having a talking head who is black undermines the work being so fiercely done by organizers and government officials. Seeing any person of color talk about how they don’t believe there are obstacles within the current systems is a huge step backwards for progress. FoxNews and other conservative outlets love to amplify these voices and will use them as a shield so as not to admit or acknowledge disparities. Candace Owens is exactly one of those voices used to denounce Black Lives Matter and embarrassingly absolve Republicans of any wrongdoing, but I’ll get to her later.
Another black conservative voice continues to baffle and perturb me. He’s not a political pundit, but is a significant figurehead of Stop the Steal. Ali Alexander. He’s someone who’s been oddly left out of the Stop the Steal conversation though he boasts starting the movement and helped plan one of the January 6th protests that devolved into one of the most disturbing and deadly moments in recent history at the Capitol. He even talked about how he met up with congresspeople beforehand, which of course they have all denied. I don’t think mainstream media knows how to deal with him, so he’s been ignored completely recently as far as I can tell or maybe he wasn’t as involved as he claims. Googling him doesn’t give a full picture of who he is and how he got to the position he’s in. His name and voice have also been curiously left out of the whole discourse about the Capitol riots. Did his name come up at all during the presentation by the Impeachment House Managers? It did not. But seriously, what the hell is his deal? Is he a grifter? Does he sincerely believe the words he says? Is he a megalomaniac like Trump?
He is such an intriguing figure because he is a walking conundrum. A man who is black, arab, and Christian breathlessly espousing how important it is to keep supporting Trump, chastises the press, and even went after VP Harris questioning her blackness. It’s like he came out of nowhere. According to various interviews and articles I’ve read online, he is super smart. Technologically savvy and cunning, he started and was involved with a number of conservatives groups and even worked for the McCain campaign in 2008. He made his way into conservative inner circles rubbing elbows with boisterous blowhards like Alex Jones, Jacob Wohl, and Roger Stone. He’s also a convicted felon? Convicted of property theft and credit card abuse. From what I understand, he did have a pretty rough childhood, but turned his life around. Unfortunately he turned his life around into a radical conservative conspiracy theorist. After the siege on the capitol, he was de-platformed. Kicked off of Facebook, Instagram, Venmo, and Paypal amongst others, so is now relegated to releasing content via video on Trovo. Recently, he released one claiming he was “coming back” in March. He’s currently “licking his wounds” but also making moves that also sound like violent threats.
What are his plans you ask? He is dead set on creating a city where all of these people who blindly follow Trump can go and govern themselves. A utopian society, if you will, and when did those ever go wrong? He just asks for donations to get it going “maybe in South America.” This is laughable for numerous reasons but especially because the point of Trumpism isn’t to actually become an independent society outside of the US, it’s to ruin the existing one and punish the people in it. I can’t make heads or tails of this guy. Seems like a grifter to me, which okay, I can understand why he’s saying this outlandish stuff. He needs to cover legal expenses (probably just living expenses). It’s just infuriating because unlike a cool scheme like the ones on Shameless, his actions were instrumental in the attack on the Capitol that caused multiple deaths. If it’s not a ruse and he seriously believes this stuff what is it that compels him to speak so loud and proud against his own interests and, most importantly, the interests of his communities?
Selfishness is definitely one factor. Selfishness and the need to be different. I don’t think it’s some complex idealogical struggle within himself that brings him to the most obtuse conclusions. I think it’s self-involvement to the degree where it entirely skews perception and an illusion that MAGA doesn’t inherently embody racism. A lot of the black conservatives who continue to follow Trump do so because they truly believe in MAGA, but strangely talk around the overt racism within it. They claim racism is just a ploy or it’s a lie or it’s people of color being too sensitive. These black conservatives point to studies done by obscure firms and obviously biased polls. Just look at this interview where Candace Owens brings Hawk Newsome, president of the Black Lives Matter chapter in NY (not affiliated with the larger global organization BLM) onto her show to talk about Black Lives Matter. Also, just hats off to Newsome for not spontaneously combusting. The video is from a conservative YouTube channel so obviously Newsome is cut off before he can fully answer any of her questions. The debate skews heavily in favor of Owens but I think she just sounds unhinged… cuz she is…There is no debate. Black lives absolutely matter. End of story.
Brace yourself. It’s a rough listen.
Candace Owens is no stranger to controversy and does not shy away from a fight. When one of those fights involved Cardi B it was quite entertaining, but ultimately, she has been a constant thorn in the side of black advancement. Her Twitter account is full of Republican talking points that disparage BLM and downplay the siege on the Capitol. She also laments the death of Rush Limbaugh. Like he didn’t actively hate us all. It’s upsetting to read. 0/10 Do not recommend.
Owens and Alexander represent a perspective that fully disregards the responsibility the government has for the continued systemic oppression of black people. Both her and Alexander insist the Democrats are taking advantage of our vote and using nefarious tactics to keep us on their side. They do not seem to grasp the efforts the Republican party has employed to suppress black votes, though, and often deflect or ignore questions that debunk their misinformation. Alexander has gone underground since the riot on January 6th surfacing here and there in those weird videos. Owens just had a baby, but she doesn’t seem to be slowing down her deluge of insanity on Twitter and staunchly holds her admiration for Trump.
I have so many more thoughts on why some people may vote against their interests, but this is just one aspect, knowingly ignoring racism or actively against progress, that is a truly challenging quandray. Conservatism, Republicanism, and Trumpism I think are connected but can also standalone, which again makes it complicated to strictly point out which one is better or worse. There’s definitely a spectrum, but the extreme seems to be growing. I still cannot fully fathom why any person of color could support Trump or this new Republican party without compromising and denying a piece of themselves, but there are so many reasons people get wrapped up in a party or an ideal. Before the Republicans fully embraced white supremacy, I could understand people of color voting for taxes or even for religious purposes, but now? It’s an active support of white supremacy and that, I just don’t know how that is reconciled.