What are black jobs? Americans react to Trump’s most bizarre debate statement

The recent presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump was chalked full of several weird moments from both candidates but the most bizarre statement of the night probably came from the former president. 

Trump made the very bold and unsubstantiated claim that migrants to the United States were threatening “Black jobs” according to The Independent, which noted that the claim had a lot of people curious about the comment. 

“The fact is that his big kill on the Black people is the millions of people that he’s allowed to come in through the border. They’re taking Black jobs now, and it could be 18, it could be 19 and even 20 million people,” NBC News reported Trump saying. 

“They’re taking Black jobs and they’re taking Hispanic jobs. And you haven’t seen it yet, but you’re going to see something that’s going to be the worst in our history,” the former president said from the debate stage.” 

NBC News pointed out that Trump’s comment was not factual but rather aligned with his strategy of “pitting Black people against immigrants” and was just one of many lies that the former president “spun about himself and Black folks.”

Other news outlets reported on Trump’s “Black jobs” claim for days following the debate, and The Independent noted his comments about Blacks and Hispanics did not land well with either community. 

Prominent Black Americans specifically quickly took issue with the former president and his comments. Some like MSNBC host Symone Sanders-Townsend began questioning exactly what Trump meant by his comments. 

“I’m still trying to figure out what a Black job is,” Sanders-Townsend said while on ‘All In With Chris Hayes’. “Am I at my Black job right now? I don’t know,” the MSNBC host said with a dry voice as she criticized Trump according to The Independent. 

CNN news anchor Victor Blackwell made a similar comment two days after the debate, jokingly saying on air: “I’m just happy to be here at my good Black job” before he went on to criticize Trump for his “bizarre riff.”

Some Black leaders in Congress took things a step further and began posting images of themselves online working at their Black jobs. Representative Stacey Plaskett of the US Virgin Islands was one of many who shared a photo. 

Bennie G. Thompson, the representative of Mississippi 2nd District, posted an image of himself on the steps of Congress with the caption: “This is what I do at my ‘Black Job’ Trump!” Again, Thompson and Plaskett weren’t alone. 

Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin added to the social media mix with a photo of  her own writing, “Hello from my office at my Black job!” However, the most powerful shot may have come from a post inspired by the images taken by black political leaders. 

Alister Martin, a practicing doctor and CEO of A Healthier Democracy, posted an image of himself alongside two other men with the caption: “A physician. An astronaut. And a fighter pilot. Reporting live from our #blackjobs.”

The message online about Trump’s remark was clear: there is no such thing as a Black job in America since anyone can achieve anything in the nation. It was a sentiment the NAACP outright stated in response to the former president’s debate comment. 

“There is no such thing as a Black job. That misinformed characterization is a denial of the ubiquity of Black talent. We are doctors, lawyers, school teachers, police officers and firefighters. The list goes on,” said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP according to Politico. 

A separate news release from the NAACP on comments from the debate noted: “We need candidates who are going to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, not attempt to mischaracterize Black workers as anything but American workers.”

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