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: https://t.co/7Sv3rHKkmW https://t.co/jbHpkKOM5o
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) January 28, 2018
During JAY-Z's appearance on Van Jones' new CNN program, he discussed a range of topics including his Grammy nominated album, his personal life, and American politics.
This isn't the first time JAY-Z has been outspoken on political and social issues. JAY-Z has been an outspoken advocate for years. In the last year alone, he addressed the violence of mass incarceration, told a young girl she could become president after he endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, and supported Colin Kaepernick's protest against police brutality and inequality. His album 4:44 discusses issues of race in America, and he has penned editorials for the New York Times regarding the issues he is working on.
But throughout these political actions, JAY-Z hasn't publicly caught the eye of the president. Until Sunday morning, when Donald Trump reacted (predictably) with a tweet about the CNN segment. The tweet can be seen below.
Van Jones pointed out that the President's tweet was redundant, because the issue of black unemployment rates had been discussed by JAY-Z on the show. JAY-Z pointed out that those figures weren't enough to redeem Donald Trump in his eyes. "Everyone's going to be sick."
Other Twitter users were quick to clown the president as well, pointing out the multiple ways in which he was incorrect. For starters, the policies Donald Trump is referring to began under Barack Obama.
Check out the best tweets below and watch JAY-Z speak about the issue above.
Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018
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.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) January 28, 2018
And, at 6.8%, Black unemployment is nearly twice the rate of white people, at 3.7%.
Trump has done nothing.
Eminem has been criticizing Trump for months, Trump has never responded.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 28, 2018
Interesting to see Trump respond to Jay-Z in less than 24-hours. https://t.co/8wLUY9maWM
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 🐝
— Robin Thede (@robinthede) January 28, 2018
A little context for this Trump/Jay-Z thing: Trump had a lot of hip hop mogul friends in NY (Puffy, Russell, etc), but Jay-Z was never one of them. Take that however you want…
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 28, 2018
@realDonaldTrump said to inform Jay-Z the Black unemployment rate is at an all time low. Is that because the Trump administration has created policies to increase mass incarceration where Blacks are forced to work in prisons for free?
— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) January 28, 2018
I’m sure Jay-Z would be happy to thank Obama for this trend started under his presidency https://t.co/jbAlRA4Q1y
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) January 28, 2018
This is what Jay-Z was driving at. Trump attacks black celebrities and athletes not merely to earn plaudits from the bigots in his base, but to distract from the substantive issues they seek to address. Don’t help him do that. https://t.co/g64maOY7kV
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) January 28, 2018
Black unemployment is at record lows thanks to a massive declining trend started in 2010.
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 28, 2018
Congratulations @BarackObama. pic.twitter.com/yr5FmQA6a3
Black unemployment is at a record low. But there's a lot more to the story... Like taking a look at cities where the unemployment rate is 3-5x hire than the national rate for Blacks... Or the implicit racism that exists in hiring... Or the lack of access https://t.co/O59frh71im
— N. Tinson-Johnson (@Nikki_T) January 28, 2018
- @foxandfriends reported on Jay-Z’s comments to @VanJones68 at 8:12 a.m. - Trump tweeted at 8:18 a.m.https://t.co/pUG0x2hUzP
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) January 28, 2018
