TRUMP SAYS DEMOCRATS WANT TO “STEAL YOUR MONEY” FOR REPARATIONS... SIR, THIS MF AGAIN?! 😒

Now see...

THIS MF.

Donald Trump got onstage in Texas and decided that one of the things Americans need to be scared of before the midterm elections is...

BLACK PEOPLE GETTING REPARATIONS.

Sir.

We have been waiting so long for reparations that the conversation itself ought to qualify for Social Security.

During the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump told the crowd that Democrats want to take people's money and use it for reparations for crimes committed hundreds of years ago.

He portrayed reparations as regular Americans being punished for something they personally didn't do.

And 730 Boom has a question:

WHO SAID THAT'S HOW REPARATIONS WOULD WORK?

Because Trump didn't name a Democratic bill that would snatch money out of somebody's checking account.

He didn't identify a Democratic candidate running on a plan to personally invoice today's white Americans for slavery.

He didn't explain a specific federal reparations program.

He just threw REPARATIONS into a long list of things he warned Democrats would supposedly do if they gain control of Congress.

And THAT is why we need to talk about this.

Because when you're discussing something as complicated as reparations, you can't reduce generations of government-sanctioned discrimination to:

“They're coming to take YOUR money!”

Baby, that ain't a policy explanation.

That's a political jump scare.

💰 AND LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT REPARATIONS ACTUALLY MEANS

The American reparations debate isn't simply about slavery ending in 1865.

It's also about what happened after slavery.

Jim Crow.

Government-sanctioned segregation.

Housing discrimination.

Redlining that helped shut Black families out of mortgages and neighborhoods.

Employment discrimination.

Policies that helped create enormous differences in generational wealth.

So when people discuss reparations, they're debating whether the government should provide some form of repair for harms that weren't simply committed by random individuals.

Government policy was involved.

And proposals haven't all looked the same.

Some have discussed direct payments.

Others have proposed housing assistance, education programs, business investment, community development or other forms of restitution.

There have also been efforts simply to create a federal commission to study the issue and recommend what reparations could look like.

So no, America does not currently have somebody sitting in Washington with a calculator saying:

“Okay, Brad from Wisconsin owes Tyrone $17.42 for slavery.”

STOP IT. 😭

🤨 BUT HERE'S WHERE THIS GETS REAL INTERESTING

Just weeks before warning Americans about other people receiving reparations, Trump used the word “reparations” while talking about HIMSELF.

Trump had been discussing compensation related to investigations and legal actions he says unfairly targeted him and his allies.

And suddenly...

REPARATIONS DIDN'T SOUND SO CRAZY.

WAIT A MINUTE.

So when the descendants of people who endured slavery and generations of government-backed discrimination discuss reparations:

“America can't afford it!”

But when Donald Trump believes Donald Trump has been wronged:

“Well, now that you mention reparations...”

SIR. 😭

730 BOOM needs somebody to bring me the industrial-size calculator because apparently reparations mathematics changes depending on who's standing at the cash register.

💵 AND THEN CAME THE $5,000

Here's another interesting piece of the speech.

Trump also promised that if Republicans keep control of both the House and Senate, he wants every adult American citizen to receive a $5,000 “Trump dividend.”

That's potentially around $1.2 TRILLION worth of checks.

So within the same political convention we're hearing:

America can't afford reparations...

But America might be able to find over a trillion dollars to send adults $5,000 checks if Republicans win Congress?

THE MONEY DONE GOT CONFUSED. 😭

It apparently knows exactly when it's broke and exactly when it's election season.

Now, that $5,000 proposal isn't currently a check you can run down to the bank and cash. Major questions remain about whether Congress would approve it, where all the money would actually come from and whether Trump's proposed funding would generate enough revenue.

So don't start ordering furniture yet.

🚨 LADY RED'S PROBLEM WITH ALL OF THIS

You don't have to support reparations.

You can oppose direct payments.

You can debate who should qualify, how much something would cost, whether descendants should receive compensation and what form any reparations program should take.

THAT'S A LEGITIMATE POLITICAL DEBATE.

But let's actually have THAT debate.

Don't turn it into:

“The Democrats are coming to steal your money and give it to Black people.”

Because now we're not discussing policy.

We're pushing buttons.

And America's racial buttons have been pushed enough.

If we're going to debate reparations, then let's discuss what happened, what government policies contributed to it, what economic effects remain today and whether the country has any responsibility to repair those harms.

Then voters can decide what they believe.

But don't scare people with the idea that somebody is about to reach through their wallet and collect a slavery deductible.

Lady Red ain't letting THAT slide.

QUESTION:

If America can seriously discuss spending enormous amounts of federal money compensating people who say the government wronged them...

why should reparations for government-sanctioned discrimination automatically be treated like some outrageous idea that isn't even worth discussing? 👀

730 BOOM RADIO

IT HITS DIFFERENT. EVERY TIME. BOOM! 💥