There are so many gems coming from the distorted mind of President Donald J. Trump.
He’d probably like to conceal his ignorance, but his arrogance doesn’t allow for humility. Case in point: During a speech marking Black History Month yesterday, the 70-year-old referred to the work of pre-Civil War abolitionist and activist Frederick Douglass in present tense.
“Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who has done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice,” he said.
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Trump has been traveling across the nation lately—more than he’s probably ever done his entire life. He’s bound to have come across a dozen Frederick Douglass avenues, streets and parks. So maybe because he’s now privy to Douglass, he assumes the world is as well.
But to add insult to injury, his darling press secretary Sean Spicer isn’t clear on who Douglass was either. “Today [Trump] made the comment about Frederick Douglass being recognized more and more, do you have any idea what specifically he was referring to?” a reporter asked Spicer.
“Well I think there was contributions,” Spicer said. “I think he wants to highlight the contributions that he has made and I think that through a lot of the actions and statements that he is going to make, I think that the contributions of Frederick Douglass will become more and more.”
For those who don’t know: Douglass’ autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave was a bestseller of the time (published 1845) and is considered classic American literature. In addition to being the first African-American to be appointed a U.S. Marshal, he also was instrumental in ending slavery, supported women’s suffrage, helped African-Americans get the right to vote, was appointed U.S. Minister to Haiti in 1889, and founded The North Star anti-slavery newspaper.
He also died in 1895.
Someone come resuscitate President Trump with Black History facts, stat.
If he’s going to be the leader of this country for the next three Februarys, he’s going to need to know more about African-American history than a kindergartener.