Courting voters of color, Biden’s record in office stands against Trump’s history of racism | Editorial

Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist who Donald Trump pardoned after he allegedly defrauded donors, said the best way to combat fact-based media was to “flood the zone” with misinformation.

That may explain the bigoted ads on Black radio, and why the internet is filled with fake images of Black Trump supporters. It may also explain why polls show Trump gaining support among Black and brown voters in Pennsylvania and other key swing states.

It makes no sense given Trump’s long history of racism and his failure as president. Then again, Trump is a shameless master at spreading lies.

He exaggerated the economic gains made by Black Americans during his time in office. In fact, inequality grew under Trump. African American homeownership fell, and Black women said their financial situation worsened. While the unemployment rate for Black workers did drop during Trump’s term, it has hit record lows under the Biden administration.

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Trump made other nonsensical claims about helping the Black community, such as how he did more than any president to help African Americans except for Abraham Lincoln. That is false.

The truth is Trump’s policies hurt Black and brown people in many ways. Trump’s current bid to retake the White House remains a threat to people of color and almost everyone else except for the very rich.

Trump repeatedly tried to kill Obamacare, which would have disproportionately impacted Black Americans. When that failed, he took steps to slash benefits and enrollment. If Trump wins in November, he vowed to renew efforts to replace Obamacare.

Despite some squirrelly language, Trump opposed increasing the federal minimum wage. Studies show increasing the minimum wage would reduce inequality by helping Black and brown workers in service jobs. By contrast, President Joe Biden increased the minimum wage for federal contractors to $17.20 an hour, a move Republican-controlled states are challenging in court.

Trump also exaggerated his claim about saving historically Black colleges and universities. In fact, the Biden administration has invested a record amount in HBCUs.

During Trump’s term, for-profit colleges disproportionately preyed on Black students, leaving many deep in debt. At the same time, he slashed regulations designed to protect students and appointed a former for-profit college official to police fraud in higher education. Meanwhile, Biden revived the protections and canceled more than $7 billion in student loan debt.

It was not just Trump’s economic and higher education policies that negatively impacted the lives of Black and brown people. He repeatedly proposed cutting billions in funding for public education, affordable housing, food stamps, and Medicaid.

Trump installed conservative judges who dismantled voting rights, moved to protect police brutality, and befriended white supremacists. He even sought to rewrite history books in schools in order to eliminate teaching about racism.

Perhaps no group was in Trump’s crosshairs more than Latinos. Many said their situation worsened under Trump, who enacted hundreds of changes to immigration policy and ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, only to have the move blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump’s mismanagement of the pandemic disproportionately impacted people of color, leading to thousands of needless deaths.

Biden traveled to Philadelphia last week to make the case to Black and brown Americans that the choice between him and Trump has real-life consequences. Biden pointed to a series of his “promises made and promises kept” that included expanding Obamacare, lowering the cost of insulin, investing in HBCUs, pardoning thousands convicted of simple possession of marijuana, and boosting police accountability in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Biden also signed the first gun safety measure passed by Congress in nearly 30 years. If reelected, he promised to back a ban on deadly assault weapons.

Biden referenced how he expanded the child tax credit, which briefly slashed child poverty in half. Senate Republicans killed the program, a sad reminder of why elections matter.

The same goes for the Supreme Court, where Biden appointed the first African American female justice. He also named the first female vice president. Biden helped diversify the federal courts by appointing more Black jurists and female judges than other presidents.

“We have a lot more to do,” Biden told the crowd at Girard College. “But let’s not lose sight of how far we’ve come.”

Yes, Biden has not been perfect. Inflation and the war in Gaza have been maddening. But anyone thinking life will be better under a Trump presidency must have amnesia from the chaos and corruption during his first term.

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Biden reminded the audience the next president may get a chance to appoint one or two justices to the Supreme Court, which could determine laws that will impact everyone. If elected, Biden said he would push for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and to enact a federal law that would guarantee women the right to choose whether to have an abortion.

In a recent meeting with The Inquirer Editorial Board, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker pointed to how Biden administration policies have benefited Philadelphia, including more than $600 million in federal funding just since January.

She referenced federal backing for a number of projects, including $20 million for airport infrastructure improvements, a $25 million grant to replace aging water pipes, $75 million for safety improvements at Philadelphia Gas Works, and a $158 million grant for the Chinatown stitch.

Biden has a real record of substantive accomplishments. Meanwhile, Trump’s record includes tens of thousands of avoidable COVID-19 deaths, four criminal indictments, two impeachments, one insurrection, a long history of racism, and being the first former president convicted of felony charges.

At the end of the day, a mug shot does not make a president.