By Renada Toyer, High School Intern
The minute Donald Trump stormed into office on the beckon of populist rhetoric and economic boasting, many individuals prayed he would bring a new, business-savvy approach to his governing. Not only as a Black American but a teenager, I have spent the majority of my life watching how leadership exudes into our everyday lives. Let me make myself clear; Donald Trump’s extended time in office has been nothing short of a disruption for working families, communities of color, and America’s placement in the world.
What were we told? Oh, that Trump was going to be different, a leader who would change the developing issues of our country, bring jobs back, and put “America First.” What a lie wrapped in a plethora of slogans. Instead, we got a president who instigated racial division, catered to the wealthy, and deputed rash economic and foreign policies that hit Black communities like a hurricane.
Let’s discuss those tariffs. Trump waged a trade war with China as if he were playing an intense game of Monopoly, only that real people were the ones to pay the price. American businesses got hit with rising costs, and those costs trickled down to working-class families. Those who already stretch every dollar as much as possible, living from paycheck to paycheck. It was a tax on the people, no matter how he tried to twist it.
It was not just China. Trump threw tariffs on allies like Canada and Mexico, causing higher prices on basic goods such as groceries, appliances, even cars. Meantime, small Black-owned businesses, already grappling for access to resources, found themselves sinking under the weight of fluctuating and rising prices. For him to talk about loving “the forgotten men and women,” Trump intentionally forgot us.
Let us not forget his foreign policy—if you can even call it that. One of the most petrifying moments in recent history was when Trump ordered the strike that killed General Qassem Soleimani. No thought-out plan, no real explanation, just another one of his hasty moves with no thought of consequences. Sending shockwaves throughout the Middle East, putting every American soldier, diplomat, and citizen abroad at risk.
The communities that suffer most are already excluded. It is not Trump’s billionaire associates who fight these wars. It is young Black men and women who get sent overseas. It is our communities that face the consequences when military budgets grow while healthcare, education, and housing continue to be underfunded.
Trump does not care. He could care less about our peace and our fairness. And he most certainly does not care about the Black community. This is the same man who praised White supremacists in Charlottesville, and who used the military to clear peaceful protesters just so he could take a photo with a Bible that he has not opened a day in his life.
His presidency has been a reflecting mirror showing America its ugliest face. His policies are not for working people. They represent power, control, and making sure the rich get richer. What about the rest of us? We are expecting to stay silent, pay more, and be thankful for the scraps.
We are not quiet anymore. As Black Americans and as citizens, we have the power to push this country into the right direction—not backward into the chaos that Trump has created. As a community we must stand by what we believe in to make our country gracious once again. America will not survive it, and neither will the soul of this nation if we do not take a stand.
