What, Exactly, Do Black Trumpers Want?
Jul 24, 2025
Commentary: By Salim Muwakkil, host of the "Salim Muwakkil Show" on WVON 1690 AM, journalist, and community activist.I admit, I find it hard to accept the reasoning of President Trump’s Black supporters. And I think I’ve heard every iteration of that support: from those who express ideological fidelity with his right-wing views, to those who value his white supremacist inclinations because they’ll force Black people to “do for self.”
None of those rationales survives serious scrutiny. The economic spectrum’s right edge offers little succor to those victimized by the imperialism of the past, which is the condition of most of the so-called Third World. Indeed, increased authoritarianism would likely exacerbate conditions of racial oppression.
And, the idea that white supremacist policies could ever benefit Black people is not only flawed but dangerous. While superficially appealing (the tribalist allure of racial separation), the argument ignores the systemic harms caused by generations of access restrictions. And how those harms compound generationally unless remediated by policies specific to the problem.
The rightward forces of Trumpism couldn't care less about those specifics. Rather, the opposite is their goal, and they’re not at all shy about disclosing their reactionary intentions. Each day of the new Trump regime, they are “flooding the zone” with overtly xenophobic policies, couched in protectionist rhetoric. The POTUS’s string of executive orders, his regime’s raft of policy changes, and Congress’s passage of the punishing appropriations bill, all reveal that the infamous Project 2025 was indeed a forecasting blueprint.
The reactionary policies of that ideologically-infused document are so overtly opposed to the goals of Black empowerment, it’s difficult to reconcile them with the alleged goals of Trump’s Black supporters (whatever they may be). Thus, it’s reasonable to ask if they are aware of those xenophobic nuances in the Trumpian doctrine without being accused of being condescending.
But, Black Trumpians often hurl accusations of Bole affiliation at critics, as if class-ID trumped race-ID, for the xenophobes. Education is often ridiculed and construed as indoctrination by the very ones who demonstrate their need for education with their reductionist critiques. But let me not be too abrasive; rancor already has tainted too many of our discussions. I just urge a more informed perspective.
At this point, however, things are getting hotter even for those lacking a historical perspective. Even the National Urban League has declared a “State of Emergency” for Black folks. I’m not sure that declaration will mean much to those Black Trumpians who are likely to dismiss the NUL as a relic of bygone days.
But, as re-Trumpment is revealing, those days are far from bygone. They’ve been reborn. The question is: how are Black Americans going to respond to this iteration of a recurrent bête noir?
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