In a long-forgotten moment of brilliance, famed TV problem-solver Dr. Phil McGraw issued the following truism.
The greatest predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior.
This insightful observation came to the forefront of my mind when I listened to Donald J. Trump’s “Platinum Plan” that has been targeted at Black voters in several key battleground states.
During a recent campaign event sponsored by “Black Voices for Trump”, the embattled political figure and failed businessman issued promises to Black America as if he were handing out candy bars.
According to Trump, if re-elected to the Oval Office, he would deliver the following to an economically struggling Black America.
If you vote Republican over the next four years, we will create 3 million new jobs for the Black community, open 500,000 new black-owned businesses, increase access to capital in Black communities by $500 billion.
As president, I will work to advance racial equity across the American economy and build back better. I promise to fight for Black working families and direct real investments to advance racial equity as part of our nation’s economic recovery.
Trump spoke as if he were addressing lowly enslaved Africans who solely depended on him for their survival. If one closed their eyes, it would not be a stretch to envision Massa Trump placing an extra portion of pork fat in the meal ration. As if his pandering could not be any worse, Trump promised to make Juneteenth a federal holiday while making a passing reference to Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbrey.
Let’s be clear on this matter, Trump’s previous behavior during his first-term in the White House has left much too be desired from Black Americans. If we apply Dr. Phil McGraw’s quote that “the greatest predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior” to Trump’s record, Blacks would have to be the very definition of naïve and politically immature to place any faith in the alluded to Platinum Plan.
Let us be clear on this matter, Trump’s desperate attempt to win the fast-approaching Presidential election will cause him to issue promises that he has no intention of honoring. One needs to look no further than his self-serving pandering to anyone or entity that he perceives capable of bolstering his crumbling foundation.
I pray with every fiber of my being that Black voters are not naïve enough to believe for one second that the boatloads of promises being made by the Trump campaign hold any real promise for the amelioration of their economic poverty and political powerlessness. From my perspective, it is impossible for a single-member of Black America to advance a logical argument in support of Donald J. Trump’s platform, an impossibility that is reinforced by his penchant to pander to White Nationalists on a Monday morning and Black America Monday night.
In many ways, Trump is a political chameleon whose changing colors are dictated by what needs to be presented to maintain power. It does not take much intelligence to sift through his rhetoric and determine that the most important element in Donald J. Trump’s life is not advancing Conservative politics, it is extending his ability to serve as a grifter seeking to steal everything in sight.
For Blacks on both sides of the aisle seeking a path to Black uplift, Donald J. Trump’s past behavior indicates that future decisions will not provide a reasonable path to uplift. Although I would like to say that my community should proceed with caution. The truth of the matter is that they should not proceed at all as Trump’s Platinum Plan is merely another form of fools gold.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.