Things are going as well for Donald Trump at the moment as they are for Uber. That is to say, pretty badly.
The Senate healthcare bill came out today. People aren’t too happy with that.
We learned that Russia attacked voting machines in more than 20 states yesterday. Obviously not the best look for the president.
Not to mention all the Comey-Flynn-Russia stuff.
Or the fact that today Trump’s out doing a rally to try to distract news outlets from all the fires raging in his White House.
Perhaps realizing that his rally was going to be about as effective as his Infrastructure Week (raise your hand if you even remember that happening … any hands, no hands?), team Trump decided they needed something else to give them good press.
What can we do, what can we do? Trump officials asked themselves.
Oh! Omarosa exclaimed, I got it! Black people will save us!
And so Omarosa, self-appointed Trump emissary to black people, dashed off a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus, inviting all of its members to come back to the White House for a second meeting with Donald Trump.
Are you out of your reality-tv-loving mind? the CBC asked after opening the letter, before cracking up in sad laughter once they got to the signature line, realizing that Omarosa signed it, “the Honorable Omarosa Manigault.”
Well, really, according to Poltico’s interview with an unnamed aide, the initial response was, “No one wants to be a co-star on the reality show.”
Writing with the sort of political élan that seems to escape the president, CBC chairman Representative Cedric Richmond (D-LA), said in a letter, “Given the lack of response to any of the many concerns we have raised with you and the administration, we decline your invitation for all 49 members of the Congressional Black Caucus to meet with you.”
The CBC said that despite the fact that they “took advantage of every opportunity to educate you on the needs of the black community and provide you with the information and solutions necessary to act of them in good faith,” the White House has made no positive progress in the direction of aiding black citizens and has shown no will to do so — that in fact, the administration has shown that it plans to do the opposite.
Listing an administration proposal to cut Pell Grants, a plan to eliminate an energy assistance program for low income citizens and seniors, the DOJ’s plan to reinvigorate the War on Drugs, the DOE’s seeming disdain for HBCUs and several other offenses, the CBC said that a meeting with the president would be a waste of time.
Too, the last time the Caucus met with the president, it provided him with a 130-page report entitled “We Have A Lot To Lose,” that outlined what the CBC feels are the concerns of black Americans, and that explained what the Trump White House could do to aid black citizens.
“We have voiced … concerns in various forms, most of them in writing, but have heard nothing from you or your cabinet officials,” the CBC said of the document, and of the many letters they have sent the administration.
Hearing from the White House now has made the Caucus suspicious that the invitation hasn’t come in good faith, but that the administration hopes to use them for a positive press-generating photo-op.
“I fail to see how a social gathering would benefit the policies we advocate for,” Richmond said.
You tell him, Mr. Richmond.
If you’d like to voice your support or express any concerns to the Congressional Black Caucus, you can contact it through its website.