Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Updated 12:11 PM ET, Tue July 30, 2019
Smart people don't need to talk about how smart they are. Great athletes don't need to regale you with stories of their athletic achievements. And people who are not racists don't need to talk about how they are the least racist person in the world.
Trump's overcompensation on race speaks volumes. As does his seeming willingness to simply make up things about just how much support he has in the black community.
"The African-American people have been calling the White House." the President said Tuesday morning. "They have never been so happy about what a President has done."
Really? "The African-American people" have just been randomly calling the White House? How did they get the number? Who did they speak to? How did the person they spoke to know they were black? And how did that person relay the information to the President of the United States?
This is all totally ridiculous of course. Not even the most ardent Trump supporter can, with a straight face, believe a) that Trump is the least racist person in the world b) that he has done more for black people in two and a half years than any past president or c) that the White House switchboard is overwhelmed with calls from black people telling the President how thrilled they are with him.
Trump's overcompensation on race is so vast, however, that it seems to allow him to convince himself that he is what he says he is. Which is, well, really something else.
Updated 12:11 PM ET, Tue July 30, 2019
Smart people don't need to talk about how smart they are. Great athletes don't need to regale you with stories of their athletic achievements. And people who are not racists don't need to talk about how they are the least racist person in the world.
Trump's overcompensation on race speaks volumes. As does his seeming willingness to simply make up things about just how much support he has in the black community.
"The African-American people have been calling the White House." the President said Tuesday morning. "They have never been so happy about what a President has done."
Really? "The African-American people" have just been randomly calling the White House? How did they get the number? Who did they speak to? How did the person they spoke to know they were black? And how did that person relay the information to the President of the United States?
This is all totally ridiculous of course. Not even the most ardent Trump supporter can, with a straight face, believe a) that Trump is the least racist person in the world b) that he has done more for black people in two and a half years than any past president or c) that the White House switchboard is overwhelmed with calls from black people telling the President how thrilled they are with him.
Trump's overcompensation on race is so vast, however, that it seems to allow him to convince himself that he is what he says he is. Which is, well, really something else.
