Everyone wants to know what “Black jobs” are after Donald Trump suggested that they’re on the decline during the first 2024 presidential debate.
As the countdown to the 2024 presidential election is underway, Trump and current President Joe Biden are ramping up their approach to gain support from Black voters. During the debate, one key issue that Biden and Trump honed in on was the current state of the economy, particularly the job market, The Hill reports.
“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,” Trump said during the debate on June 27. “They’re taking Black jobs now – and it could be 18, it could be 19 and even 20 million people. They’re taking Black jobs, and they’re taking Hispanic jobs, and you haven’t seen it yet, but you’re gonna see something that’s going to be the worst in our history.”
Originally, CNN anchor and debate moderator Dana Bash had asked Biden what he has done for Black voters, especially since there has been growing public disdain from the Black community toward the White House concerning the economy.
Per The Hill, Biden spoke to the historically low unemployment rates that his administration has seen since taking office in 2021. According to the White House, from September 2022 to February 2024, the Black unemployment rate had “remained at or below 6 percent.” By April 2024, that percentage rate was at 5.6%.
Under Trump’s leadership, from 2016 to 2020, the Black unemployment rate was roughly 8%. So what exactly is a Black job? Some social media users took the moment to get off jokes, while others expressed genuine concern about what lies ahead as the nation prepares to select its next leader.
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison posed the question, “What the h-ll is a ‘Black job?!’” On the other hand, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) said she wishes that the moderators, CNN anchors Jake Trapper and Bash, would have asked for clarity around what Trump meant by the phrase “Black jobs.”
“I still don’t understand the ‘black job’ comment,” wrote Omar in a post shared on X. “It would have been nice if there was a follow up to understand what he was trying to say.”
Other organizations and leaders made light of Trump’s comments, with BlackPAC, an organization on a mission to build Black political power, tweeting, “Well, now that the debate is over. Time for us all to get ready for bed so we can be on time to our #BlackJobs tomorrow.”
