BET’s Billionaire Founder Says Black People Get “Minimal Return” By Voting For Democrats

During a Thursday interview with CNBC, BET founder Robert Johnson said the Democratic Party is offering “minimal” returns for the African American community. 

“I think Black Americans are getting a little bit tired of delivering huge votes for the Democrats, and seeing a minimal return in terms of economic wealth and closing the wealth gap, the job creation and job opportunities,” Johnson told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble. 

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“And Joe Biden was not an inspiring candidate for many Black Americans. And some of them stay at home. Some of them voted for Trump,” he added.

Johnson, America’s first Black billionaire, doubts that Biden and the Democratic Party will enact policies that will lift African American communities out of poverty. 

“Black people do not embrace Biden as he never articulated a policy that went directly to the concerns of Black Americans,” he said. “I don’t think Biden has that leadership quotient that’s going to allow him to do what is critical to bring the economy back, due to the trade-off between restoring the economy and fighting the pandemic.”

Watch The Interview Here

Early polling data, via AP VoteCast, shows President Trump raised his standing with Black voters over four years ago. Trump won 8% of the Black vote, about a 2 percentage-point gain on his 2016 number. Maybe this lends credibility to Johnson’s point about how folks in the Black community are “tired” of the Democrats underdelivering and are willing to try something new. 

In June, Johnson said the racial wealth inequality had crippled the Black community. He proposed $14 trillion in reparations for slavery and criticized the Democratic Party for not doing enough. 

“Damages is a normal factor in a capitalist society for when you have been deprived for certain rights,” he said. “If this money goes into pockets like the [coronavirus] stimulus checks… that money is going to return back to the economy” in the form of consumption. There will also be more Black-owned businesses, he added.

Johnson has also praised Trump for his economic magic that stimulated the economy before the virus pandemic. 

“African-American unemployment is at its lowest level… I give the president a lot of credit for moving the economy in a positive direction that’s benefiting a large amount of Americans.”

No matter who wins the US presidential election, the political party that offers solutions to close the racial wealth and income gaps will be victorious in 2024. Our thoughts on the fix is that whoever wins will want to offer quick fixes, which could be People’s QE?