When he refused to rent to African Americans, they said it was a company decision.
When he advertised for the execution of the Central Park Five, they said he was tough on crime.
When he justified the acts of white nationalists, they said his words were taken out of context.
On February 5 at 10 p.m., President Donald J. Trump, on a social media platform he owns and operates, shared a clip portraying the only Black President and former First Lady of the United States as monkeys.
So, what will they say now? And to clarify, they are the people who voted for Donald J. Trump and elected him a second time.
Ongoing discrimination
At first, I didn’t want to believe it. When I heard the news in Dr. Welcher’s office, I thought, there’s no way. In an age of AI and deepfakes, I assumed something must have been misconstrued. But the facts were clear. The post was real, and the intent was unmistakable.
This was not an isolated act. It fits a long pattern. President Trump has repeatedly framed racism, violence, and exclusion as acceptable. This context is crucial because it shows that what we are witnessing is not a departure from past behavior. It is a continuation, amplified by his power and platform.
I cannot believe I am writing this piece, just as I cannot believe a convicted felon and documented discriminator holds the codes to nuclear weapons. He has been elected twice to the highest office in the country, and he seems immune to reasonable critique. Recognizing this pattern is necessary to grasp the scale of the moral and civic challenge before us.
To be frank, I have abandoned any hope or moral standard I once had for Trump. I was among those who said, “It will only be four years.” Despite voting for Kamala Harris, encouraging peers to do so, and knowing the failures of his first term, I did not think a second term would be catastrophic. Yet here we are.
In just 14 months in office, President Trump has reshaped our government and society. He eliminated balanced oversight, destroyed heralded federal institutions, and repurposed symbols of public trust for self-aggrandizement. Meanwhile, real issues like healthcare, food security, and education have worsened. By prioritizing spectacle over substance, he has changed the very expectations of leadership.
It often takes decades for scholars to completely evaluate a presidency. Political crises and emotional turbulence make it hard to judge in real time. But patterns emerge quickly for those willing to see them. Resharing media that depicts Barack and Michelle Obama as apes is not a moral departure. It fits a consistent pattern of behavior that any observer, unclouded by nationalism, would recognize as racist.
There is no excuse this time. This was not a mistake. This is not a ploy by the radical left. This is not a misinterpretation by journalists. This is racist. He is racist. The worst part is that he assumes we will not notice or do not care enough to act.
Why this video matters and the responsibility to act
Despite what you may think having read this far, this piece is not about Donald Trump. My Black body has no more breath or time to waste on him. This piece is about us. All of us. Anyone who stands outside the MAGA base, this is our time. I chose a youthful photo of the Obamas, full of life and dignity, to show who they truly are and to stand in stark contrast to the offensive post shared by President Trump.
History has given us the chance to call a spade a spade. We can analyze what happened, understand its implications, and decide whether we will act.
How many more excuses will we accept? How many racist actions will we brush off as “Trump being Trump”? How many times will discrimination act like a wave, wreak havoc on those on the shore, and then vanish without consequence?
Have we become so desensitized to injustice that when hate knocks down our door, shouts out its name, steals all we own, and takes our children hostage, we call it an accident? Have we recategorized racism from a crime against humanity to “a sign of the times”?
Will we be victims of history, or will we be its curators?
Lucky for us, in true American fashion, we have a chance to change this narrative. Primaries are soon. The midterms follow shortly after. Let this action be a sign to those who made the “conservative” choice, or those who refused to choose, to right their wrongs. To tolerate Trump and claim a moral existence is now incompatible. One cannot do both.
My favorite quote from the college’s most famous alum is, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The tragedy and truth of Dr. King’s words is that the arc only bends when we act.
When bending and breaking are the only options, and breaking would allow prejudice and chauvinism to dominate, we must bend.
