NAACP’s leader, Derrick Johnson, has made the audacious move to exclude President Donald Trump, a standing President, from attending their national convention in Charlotte, scheduled for July 12-16. Johnson’s questionable logic revolves around his assumption that Trump is causing harm to our democracy and civil rights. A questionable read on the situation, as his claims border alarming ideological extremism, with a seemingly relentless urge to liken democratic actions to fascism. The assertion that President Trump is using the ‘fascist playbook’ rather than the revered U.S. Constitution, is as peculiar as it is un-American.
Johnson continues to cast aspersions on Trump’s presidency with inflated claims that stand on shaky constitutional ground. Accusations include the misuse of executive orders for the alleged suppression of voters and the belittling of federal civil rights protections. It can arguably be seen that such outlandish criticisms, seem more a vivid reflection of Johnson’s partisan mindset, rather than a grounded examination of the actualities of Trump’s presidency.
The narrative is pushed further, with Johnson proposing that the President has ‘illegally’ used military resources against our communities, and that his actions persistently sabotage every pillar of our democracy. Yet, these statements seem more reflective of oppositional rhetoric and less of the ground truths. They stand in stark contrast to the fact that Trump’s actions, while sometimes controversial, have been aimed at protecting the law-abiding citizens and upholding the rule of law.
Another claim made is that Trump is seeking to increase his power and gain personal benefits through the U.S. government, a statement that again appears to brush past the realities of the matter. As a successful businessman prior to his presidency, the probability of Trump leveraging his position for personal gain seems contrived at best. An argument could be made that such allegations seem conveniently manufactured, suiting certain narratives while lacking substantial evidence.
This move by Johnson reveals a startling break from tradition: Trump, a second-term President, would be the first in over a century to not get invited to the NAACP’s national convention. The narrative of Trump’s battle against democracy seems to be bandied about, disregarding that he has initiated changes to try and make America ‘great again’, though these efforts occasionally reverse Biden-era policies. Yet, many of these changes remain unratified by Congress, pointing towards a lag in legislative momentum rather than autocratic tendencies.
Radiating partisanship, the NAACP has often locked horns with the presidential administration and the Republican majority General Assembly of North Carolina. This has been done more from ideological grounds rather than on the basis of real issues, aligning with Democrats or their propelling entities when convenient. Yet, it’s worth highlighting that despite this opposition, Trump has successfully won North Carolina thrice in presidential elections.
In a competition where the odds were heavily stacked against him, President Trump, against all claims of his antagonistic stand towards the African American community, doubled his share of Black voter endorsements in 2020, as compared to his battle against Joe Biden. A rather inconvenient truth for his detractors, Trump’s growing support amongst the African American electorate clearly undermines the rhetoric strategically stretched out to belittle his efforts towards the community.
Despite being a traditionally blue state, North Carolina’s political spectrum is evolving rapidly with the voting divisions currently being equally distributed. On Jan. 1, 2004, the state’s more than 5 million voters were leaned more towards Democrats with 47.6% Democrats, 34.4% Republicans, and 17.7% unaffiliated. This was half a decade after the state’s 10 governing offices, known as the Council of State, was monopolized by the Democrats.
Today, the state’s political landscape has changed significantly. The number of voters has increased to 7.5 million, with the majority now unaffiliated, standing at 37.8%. The Democrats and Republicans share nearly equal proportions with 30.7% and 30.4% respectively. Despite the claims of a blue-state dominance, the Council of State had even seen a majority of Republicans before settling back to an equal divide in November.
In effect, the actions of the NAACP, a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of colored people, seem more about stirring controversy and maintaining partisanship than advocating for the welfare of the African American community. They claim to ‘advocate, agitate and litigate’ for the civil rights of Black America, yet their actions seemingly mirror a heavy political bias and a narrative that seems less about justice and more about political gamesmanship
The post Disturbingly Biased: NAACP’s Unjust Exclusion of Trump from Convention appeared first on Real News Now.
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