Black Conservative Scholar Urges Trump to Ignore Haters

President Donald Trump’s critics now routinely call him a racist — but the chief executive should not engage them, a black conservative scholar said Tuesday.

Former Vanderbilt University political science and law professor Carol Swain said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” Tuesday morning that Trump will not change the minds of haters.

“He should ignore those voices because there’s nothing he can do to change their rhetoric,” she said. “But he can reach out to everyday Americans. And so I think that what he does in the communities, that’s what he needs to focus on.”

Swain said Trump at times has been ill-served by his advisers. For instance, she said, he would have been better off attending an event commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday Monday — rather than spending that time golfing.

“The president can be slow and steady, but he needs to listen to some new voices,” she said. “And he needs to bypass the people that hate him because they’re going to hate him no matter what he does. But I think he can make inroads among everyday people.”

“There are many blacks and black pastors that I believe are ignored that would be happy, you know, to receive him.”

Swain said Trump is “best when he follows his own instincts.” She said there are places he can go to talk directly to black Americans without having to go through people who actively oppose him.

“There are many blacks and black pastors that I believe are ignored that would be happy, you know, to receive him,” she said.

Soon black Americans, as well as their countrymen of every race, will begin seeing more money in their paychecks thanks to the tax cut passed in December. Black unemployment also is at a record low.

“The president has delivered tangible goods, but he’s just not very effective when it comes to both little symbolic things that matter to people,” he said. “If he could sync the symbolism with the goods that he has actually has delivered, then I think he would make greater inroads.”

Swain said she has noticed that black acquaintances who did not vote for Trump are not as vociferous in their criticism of him as they once were.

“They’re getting quieter and quieter, and begrudgingly acknowledging that this new tax bill is going to benefit them,” she said.

Related: Pastor Says Trump Is Creating ‘Real Opportunities’ for African-Americans

Swain said the Congressional Black Caucus is a “disgrace” and “racist.” She said race-baiting is central to the Democratic Party’s electoral strategy.

“Their whole key to winning elections depends on keeping the black public deceived,” she said.

But those tactics have been grown less potent from overuse, Swain said.

“If you continue to use the same-old, same old, same-old, same-old, people get tired of it,” she said. “They can see through it.”

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, article image: RS3J1522, CC BY 2.0, by Miller Center)