President Donald Trump has once again triggered a massive backlash for calling out Jay-Z on Twitter saying someone should tell the rapper that black unemployment is at the “lowest rate ever recorded”. The president’s post came after Jay-Z discussed politics, racism and black unemployment in America with CNN’s Van Jones on Saturday (27 January).
During the interview on The Van Jones Show, Jay-Z talked about Trump’s recent reported reference to Haiti and other African nations as “shithole countries” and called the president’s remarks “disappointing” and “really hurtful”.
“It really is hurtful,” Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, said. “Everyone feels anger but after the anger, it’s real hurtful. Because it’s looking down at a whole population of people, and it’s so misinformed because these places have beautiful people and beautiful everything. This is the leader of the free world speaking like this.
“But on the other side, this has been going on. This is how people talk. This is how they talk behind closed doors.”
Trump triggered extreme outrage and criticism over his reported remarks during a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers over immigration with many critics citing it as evidence that he is racist. The president has dismissed the claims saying he is the “least racist person”.
Discussing racism in the US, Jay-Z continued: “You haven’t fixed anything. You have sprayed perfume on the trash can. What you do, when you do that is the bugs come and you spray something and you create a superbug because you don’t take care of the problem. You don’t take the trash out, you keep spraying whatever over it to make it acceptable. As those things grow, you create a superbug. And then now we have Donald Trump, the superbug.”
Later in the interview, Van Jones questioned Jay-Z if it is okay for Trump “to say terrible things but put money in our pockets” and keep improving the economy.
“No, because it’s not about money at the end of the day”, Jay-Z said. “Money doesn’t equate to happiness. It doesn’t. That’s missing the whole point. You treat people like human beings. That’s the main point.
“It goes back to the whole thing — ‘Treat me really bad and pay me well. It’s not going to lead to happiness, it’s going to lead to, again, the same thing. Everyone’s going to be sick.
The African-American unemployment rate of 6.8% has been the lowest on record since the US Bureau of Labour Statistics first began tracking it in 1972. However, experts say the trend started much before Trump took office in January 2017.
On Sunday, Trump took to Twitter to hit back at Jay-Z over his comments during the interview.
Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
Social media users immediately slammed the president for taking credit for the low unemployment rates. Others questioned why Trump chose to immediately take on Jay-Z less than a day after his remarks but failed to call out Eminem over his own fiery, months-long criticism of the president.
In October last year, Eminem’s freestyle rap titled The Storm that directly and sharply criticised Trump immediately went viral. In a recent interview with Billboard, Eminem – whose real name is Marshall Mathers III – said “a f**king turd” would have been better as a president.”
Trump has yet to respond to Eminem’s comments.
Eminem has been criticizing Trump for months, Trump has never responded.
Interesting to see Trump respond to Jay-Z in less than 24-hours. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/957603800579297280 …
“Trump ignores Eminem’s diss track, but responds immediately to Jay-Z’s criticism. Wonder what the difference is,” one Twitter user wrote.
Van Jones also shot back at the president saying: “Someone needs to inform @realdonaldtrump that I ALREADY asked Jay Z whether black employment figures redeem Trump’s presidency. And Jay’s answer last night on the #VanJonesShow was POWERFUL !!!”
“Black unemployment was cut in half during President Obama’s administration and has gone down for 6 years straight. Somehow, Trump wants credit for what he inherited,” one Twitter user added.
Someone needs to inform @realdonaldtrump that I ALREADY asked Jay Z whether black employment figures redeem Trump’s presidency. And Jay’s answer last night on the #VanJonesShow was POWERFUL !!! … Watch the VIDEO for yourself: http://snpy.tv/2ByaQnT
Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
Rains 
☈
Black unemployment dropped from 12.7% to 7.8% under Obama. It has dropped from 7.8% to 6.8% under Trump.
Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
Really? So now you’re fighting with a rapper? Funny, you had NOTHING to say to the white rapper who had a whole lot to say about your policies. Your racism is showing again. Guess what? Jay Z has the right to speak out against your policies, your racism and your hypocrisy.
There’s not a single bill signed into law by President Trump that has had any effect on black unemployment. The decline in black unemployment is attributable to policies of the previous administration.
Can somebody inform @realDonaldTrump he NEEDS to thank the black man that was in the WH before he was?
The only jobs you’ve secured are makers of rebel-flags & tiki-torches, porn stars, comedians, therapists, lawyers, journalists, & fact checkers. #TheResistance
Kokomo I wonder why Trump has never responded to Eminem’s comments. I mean, I actually know why just like everyone else does.
[Eminem criticizes Trump]
TRUMP: ….
[Jay-Z criticizes Trump]
TRUMP: https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/957603800579297280 …
Eminem, white guy, literally said a turd would make a better president than Trump. No response from Trump.
Jay-Z, black guy, thoughtfully responds to Trump’s racist characterization of Africa and Haiti as “shithole” countries. Trump responds by doubling down on his racism. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/957603800579297280 …
Trump’s treatment of Jay-Z and Eminem should come as no surprise. It’s just like his 1970s housing discrimination scandal when there were “no vacancies for blacks.” The only difference is that the same racist is now President of the United States.
Trump lashes back at Jay-Z, but never said a word about Eminem’s criticism of him. I wonder why one, but not the other. Something is different. Just can’t put my finger on it.
Why is it that @Eminem has been insulting Trump for several months, and Trump remains silent, but when a black person like Jay-Z or @jemelehill criticizes the President, he has a Twitter-attack? Asking for a friend….
With lyrics like these, I can see why Trump went off on Jay-Z.
Ooops, wait… these are Eminem lyrics.
That’s weird. I wonder why he didn’t go after Eminem.
Eminem did an entire freestyle dissing Trump & he stayed silent but when a strong black man, Jay-Z, speaks eloquently against his policies, Trump attacks. https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/957603800579297280 …
Forget Jay-Z and focus on the spin. Black unemployment has been declining since 2010 at a steady rate, but less jobs were created in 2017 than the past 6 years.
And, at 6.8%, Black unemployment is nearly twice the rate of white people, at 3.7%.
Trump has done nothing.
I love that trump is so intimidated by Jay-Z but he’s a quarter degree away from insulting Bey and he does not want it with us
Trump has been a racist his whole life. As president, he has made it his mission to use the presidency to attack high-profile black citizens:
Jay-Z.
Jemele Hill.
Marshawn Lynch.
LaVar Ball.
Colin Kaepernick.
Myeshia Johnson.
Steph Curry.
Trump wants Jay-Z to give him credit for the decreasing black unemployment rate. But that progress isn’t a result of Trump’s policies, it has been years in the making. And at 6.8 percent, it’s not really worth celebrating. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2018/01/trump-black-hispanic-unemployment/549932/?utm_source=atlfb …
The Black and Hispanic Unemployment Rates Don’t Deserve Applause
President Trump lauded them and then claimed credit for their positive developments in the past year. He was doubly mistaken.
theatlantic.com
– @foxandfriends reported on Jay-Z’s comments to @VanJones68 at 8:12 a.m. – Trump tweeted at 8:18 a.m.https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/957603800579297280 …
Well now I’ve got Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind on the brain for the rest of the day.
Glad Trump didn’t tweet about Milli Vanilli.
Jay Z. John Lewis. Jemele Hill. Khizr Kahn. LaVar Ball. Colin Kaepernick. Frederica Wilson. Doesn’t it seem like President Trump gets a little bit angrier when people of color stand up to him?
Ronald Reagan challenged Gorbachev. Donald Trump challenged Jay-Z.
