Trump and Rubio try — and fail — to defend ‘Black jobs’ comment

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Quick observation from over the weekend: If our country’s pundit class weren’t overwhelmingly white, the framing of Thursday’s debate would have revolved around Donald Trump’s overt racism and not Joe Biden’s speech pattern. Because Trump’s false and bigoted claim about immigrants taking “Black jobs” instantly sparked widespread backlash — and it has arguably been the most talked about moment from the debate. Trump and his campaign have sought to pit Black people against immigrants (despite some Black people being immigrants themselves) to promote xenophobia, in hopes of aiding his election. His “Black jobs” claim was a tortured attempt to do that, despite the Black unemployment rate reaching a record low under the Biden administration. Trump and his campaign have sought to pit Black people against immigrants (despite some Black people being immigrants themselves) to promote xenophobia, in hopes of aiding his election. And, for the record, experts have since done what CNN failed to do during the debate itself: debunk Trump’s claim. So it’s remarkable that Team Trump is doubling down on the claim. Sen. Marco Rubio, who has effectively taken it upon himself to be Trump’s racism translator, tried to clean up the comments in the spin room on debate night. It didn’t go well. “When you flood a country with millions of people,” the Florida Republican claimed, “you’re going to have more competition for work. You are. And those workers are willing to do it at a lower wage.” Here, Rubio used racist and dehumanizing language to suggest that “Black jobs” are ... low-wage jobs. As an example, he mentioned construction jobs. I feel confident saying the majority of Black folks aren’t eager to work what are often backbreaking construction jobs, but that’s almost beside the point, which is that the senator is simply wrong. Evidence shows that immigrants actually drive job creation. Nonetheless, Trump repeated the claim himself at a rally in Virginia on Saturday, saying immigration is “the worst thing that’s happening” to Black people because immigrants are “taking the Black jobs.” Trump is taking one of the ugliest lines from his debate and turning it into a mantra.