The racist assumptions of Trump’s attack of John Lewis

 

Civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman John Lewis said today that he does not plan to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration and that he does not see Trump as a legitimate president. Trump retorted on Twitter, attacking Lewis and saying that his district was “crime infested” and “falling apart.”

Lewis represents a large portion of Atlanta, including areas encompassing Emory University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and the headquarters of Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines. While it has the same sorts of challenges any city faces, Lewis’ district is far from “crime infested” and is in no way “falling apart.” Indeed, its median household income is just below the national average and its average household income is above the national average. Not that everything is perfect in that district: Trump’s attempt to develop a condo tower there was an abject failure. Oops.

Trump likely knows nothing about Lewis’ district. He says this, however, because Lewis is a black man and Trump assumes that an area represented by a black man is a ghetto. And he knows that his supporters likely believe the same thing.

Craig Calcaterra

Craig is the author of the daily baseball (and other things) newsletter, Cup of Coffee. He writes about other things at Craigcalcaterra.com. He lives in New Albany, Ohio with his wife, two kids, and many cats.