Forbes, a major publication, has come under fire over an article that has since disappeared following the horrible events at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The article titled “Will Surviving Gunfire Be Donald Trump’s Next Appeal To Black Voters?” has been taken down after an uproar.
Here’s a little background. The article was penned by Shaun Harper, a claimed “expert” in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The piece was published just a few hours following an assassination attempt on former President Trump during a campaign event in Pennsylvania.
In his article, Harper mooted a hypothesis. He proposed that Trump, having survived the shooting, might leverage this experience to connect with Black voters. Harper imagined a claim that Trump could make, saying, “And the Blacks, they love me because they know the terrifying sound of gunshots”. However, he expressed hope that Trump would not make such a statement.
What’s gross is that in less than 48 hours after the attempted murder of a former president.
Harper also drew attention to Trump’s comments at a rally in South Carolina. Trump had noted that his mugshot, taken in Fulton County jail in Georgia, was embraced by the Black community. Trump stated, “You see Black people walking around with my mug shot, you know they do shirts.” Quite an observation, isn’t it?
In a bold move, Harper even suggested that Trump might claim his fist-pumping gesture after being struck by a bullet was an homage to the iconic “Black Power Salute” from the 1968 Olympics and the 2020 George Floyd marches. Harper opined, “Let’s hope not. That would be revisionist history.” He also felt that such a narrative is unlikely to make Black voters see Trump as one of them.
Subsequent versions of the article removed numerous paragraphs, but the original concept persisted—that Trump might utilize the shooting as part of his campaign strategy. Harper expressed, “Hopefully, being shot doesn’t become a similarly problematic strategy to link Trump with an experience that far too many (not all) Black people have.”
Later, the entire article was ultimately removed. As of yet, there has been no comment on this from the magazine’s representatives.
