Day 374: Donald Trump Battles…Jay-Z?

Like many people before him, rapper and businessman Jay-Z spoke out about Donald Trump and his rhetoric in an interview on CNN, pointing out that success for Trump wouldn’t be measured merely by dollars and cents.

Asked by Van Jones whether it’s OK for Trump “to say terrible things but put money in our pockets” amid Trump’s claims that unemployment for African-Americans has dropped, Jay-Z said no, “because it’s not about money at the end of the day. 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,” he said. “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.”

His “treat people like human beings” drew a rebuke from Trump, who didn’t seem to hear Jay-Z at all.

Trump failed to mention that the rate of job growth has slowed significantly across the board in the last twelve months; that few companies have committed to long-term wage growth, even in the wake of the tax bill being passed; and some of the largest employers in the nation — Sam’s Club, Toys “R” Us, Macy’s and Sears, to name a few — are shuttering stores by the dozen.

On top of that — especially when viewed through the lens that Trump completely missed Jay-Z’s actual message — many pointed out a particular pattern to Trump’s attacks.

Earlier this week Trump referred to himself, yet again, as “the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you.”

374 days in, 1088 to go

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