Thursday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” senior political commentator Van Jones spoke with a group of African Americans in South Carolina who explained why they voted for and continue to support President Donald Trump.
Seth Dawkins said, “I mean, part of it is he’s an asshole. I like — I like authenticity.”
Detra German said, “It just opened my eyes to maybe he’s not this person that I have been led to believe that he was.”
Kyasia Kraft said, “I saw how things were going during his first term, and I was pleasantly surprised, and I was pleased with what was happening. I saw the economy getting better. I saw country relations in certain countries getting better.”
Dawkins added, “For me, I like the border. I just don’t like the idea of someone coming here illegally and getting benefits that can serve my community so that’s the reason why I support him on that border policy.”
Jones said, “Donald Trump’s team went in, they took down Harriet Tubman’s pictures for a quick minute. They’re trying to, like, knock out the black museums. What does that have to do with the price of eggs and how does that impact you?”
Dawkins said, “In some ways, it’s a slap in the face. In other ways, I don’t care. I care more about how I’m going to take care of my children.”
Jones said, “Under the Trump and Biden administration, they came to certain agreements with police departments to be less brutal toward the black community. Trump has now ended all that. How does that help the black community?”
Kraft replied, “I have a lot of issues with police reform and just with how police officers are treated as a whole. Her husband is currently going through the process to become a police officer. The amount of hatred that cops get, even the best ones, I think, has become a huge problem. Because it has been, especially around election times, when it definitely comes out of, like, ‘Oh no, the cops are bad. The cops hate you because you’re black.’ They’re immediately deemed as evil.”
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