The Daily Signal - #331: Young Black Leaders Gathered to Hear Trump, Conservative Speakers

Episode Date: November 1, 2018

What do young black leaders really think about President Donald Trump? And what do they think about conservativism? The Daily Signal's Troy Worden went to Turning Point USA's Young Black Leaders Summit, and reports back on his conversations with attendees. Plus: Starbucks is releasing its holiday cups Nov. 2--but isn't it too early to already be celebrating Christmas? We also cover these stories:--President Trump gives a speech on immigration, focusing on asylum seeker and the caravan.--Relations between the U.S. and China are not strong at the moment, as the two nations are locked in an escalating trade war. But on Thursday, President Trump signaled progress on the trade front.--The Today Show’s Al Roker dressed up as Doc Brown from “Back to the Future”.  Roker, who is black, defended dressing up as a white character after an objection on Twitter.The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'd love to talk, business. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Friday, November 2nd. I'm Kate Trinco. And I'm Daniel Davis. Last week, a conservative group hosted hundreds of young black leaders in the nation's capital. One of our colleagues, Troy Warden, attended the gathering, and he'll join us to share about his encounter with young black leaders who want to give President Trump a chance. Plus, it's early November, which means some horrendous people are already listening to Christmas music.

We'll discuss that issue and why Starbucks is a chief offender. But first, we'll cover a few of the top headlines. President Trump gave a major address on immigration Thursday. Illegal immigration affects the lives of all Americans. Illegal immigration hurts American workers, burdens American taxpayers, and undermines public safety, and places enormous strain on our local schools, hospitals, and communities in general. taking precious resources away from the poorest Americans who need them most.

Illegal immigration costs our country billions and billions of dollars each year. America is a welcoming country, and under my leadership, it's a welcoming country. We lead the world in humanitarian protection and assistance by far. It's nobody even close. We have the largest and most expansive immigration. programs anywhere on the planet. We've issued 40 million green cards since 1970, which means the permanent residency and a path to citizenship for many, many people. But we will not allow our generosity to be abused by those who would break our laws, defy our rules, violate our borders,

break into our country illegally. Trump also said, per the Washington exam, that the government of Mexico has generously offered asylum, jobs, education, and medical care for people within the caravan. But many members of the caravan have refused these offers, which demonstrate that these migrants are not legitimate asylum seekers. The president also announced a change of policy. Under this plan, the illegal aliens will no longer get a free pass into our country by lodging meritless claims in seeking asylum. Instead, migrants seeking asylum will have to present themselves lawfully at a port of entry. Well, a few days after ruffling some feathers with the potential executive order, President Trump now says he prefers to go through Congress to bring an end to birthright citizenship.

Initially, he had proposed using an executive order to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants born on U.S. soil. On Wednesday, he said, quote, I'd rather do it through Congress because that's permanent. Is the next UN ambassador, Heather Naurd? The former Fox News host turned State Department spokeswoman reportedly has the gig if she wants it. That's according to Fox News, which cites an unnamed administration official as the source.

Noward reportedly met with President Trump Monday, presumably to discuss this. Well, the shooter who's alleged to have killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue, appeared in court on Thursday, pleading not guilty to 44 charges. On Saturday, the man stormed the Tree of Life congregation in the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill. In addition to the 11 who lost their lives, six were wounded, including four police officers.

He faces federal charges that include hate crimes and could carry the death penalty. Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Synagogue talked to CNN Thursday about President Trump's visit to a synagogue and how it went. It was privileged to have a private 15 or 20 minutes with the family. the president was very warm, very consoling. Put his hand on my shoulder, and the first question he asked me was, Rabbi, tell me, how are you doing? And I must say throughout the time we spent together, I was pleasantly surprised by a warm and personal side to the president

that I don't think America has ever seen. Well, relations between the U.S. and China are not strong at the moment, as the two nations are locked in an escalating trade war. But on Thursday, President Trump signaled progress on the trade front. He took a call with Chinese President Xi saying on Twitter, quote, we talked about many subjects with a heavy emphasis on trade. Those discussions are moving along nicely with meetings scheduled at the G20 in Argentina, also had good discussion on North Korea, end quote.

Well, the U.S. in China have been at an impasse, with Washington refusing to move forward with trade negotiations until China presents a proposal that addresses U.S. complaints about forced technology transfers and other economic issues. Who can be what for Halloween? While the holiday is over, controversy isn't entirely done yet. Today shows Al Roker dressed up as Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Roker, who is black, defended dressing up as a white character after an objection on where else?

Twitter. Roker tweeted, I'm going to say this one last time. but the folks who get it understand and the ones who don't won't. I can be Doc Brown and I wear the outfit and wig and not change my skin color. If you're white, you can be President Obama if you want. Just don't color your skin. Meanwhile, some affiliated with the Black Panther character

told the Washington Post that it was fine for kids of all races to be that character this Halloween. Well, up next we'll talk with Troy Warden who attended a conference last week for young conservative black leaders. Do you have an opinion that you'd like to share? I'm Rob Bluie, editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal, and I'm inviting you to share your thoughts with us. Leave us a voicemail at 202-608-6205 or email us at letters atdailysignal.com.

Yours could be featured on the Daily Signal podcast. So a few days ago, Turning Point USA, a conservative organization that is geared toward attracting young people, hosted a summit for young black leaders. Troy Warden, who is interning at the Daily Signal this semester and is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley. So definitely a total conservative here. Attended chunks of the summit and reported on it for the Daily Signal. Troy, tell us some of what the event was like.

Well, the event was electric, at least during President Trump's speech to the attendees at the White House. It was a packed room. The crowd was waiting eagerly for the president to appear. They chanted, we want Trump. At one point, when Trump came on stage and delivered his remarks, there was a characteristic call and response that you see at Trump rallies. Attendees would yell out something about, say, fake news, and Trump would respond, usually in a humorous manner.

So the attendees definitely enjoyed it. There was also some back and forth between journalists and attendees over political issues. They sometimes got heated, but they were old. always in my mind civil. Roland Martin, for instance, had a discussion with multiple attendees over issues such as abortion and welfare, that sort of thing. So all in all, it wasn't just a passive experience for many of the attendees or the journalists. It was always interactive. the following day when attendees had the option to listen to numerous speakers at the liaison hotel here in D.C., I got to speak to some of the attendees, and we can go into more of that if you'd like. Yeah, I was just going to ask you about that. I mean, what kind of, what was some of their thoughts about the president, about the Republican Party, and what were they, what were some of the issues that they really, you know, cared about?

Well, I think what my interviews with the attendees go to show is that Americans are not just diverse in terms of skin color. They're diverse in terms of ideologies, their beliefs, and their personal experiences. I had the opportunity to talk to all manner of persons, whether conservative Republicans, libertarians, students of the more philosophical bent. I spoke to all these people, and almost universally they told me they were at the Turning Point Summit, not because they were enamored of TurningPoint's specific ideology, but because they wanted to meet other young African Americans who had different points of view than most other people in the black community. And so I think that what Turning Point was doing,

what they have achieved is not a quote-unquote indoctrination, which a lot of the people on the left want to push. They're actually an educational venture. They were educating African-Americans in the belief, of other people within their community that they might not have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. I recall that Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point, told me that some of the students had told him they had never been on a plane before, let alone be in the nation's capital, let alone hear from the president. So I think that what the students took away from the conference was not

a series of talking points. They took away a bunch of connections and insights. Specifically, I met people who generally agreed with the president's statements that there is a culture of conformity in America regarding black Americans. Black Americans are, they said, expected to talk and vote and think a certain way. And they're pushing back against that. Many of the people I met, I got the impression that they really thought of themselves of individuals and didn't much care for what other people thought. They wanted to express their beliefs without being attacked. I did meet individuals who had actually been assaulted before. I spoke to one individual who was at a Trump rally wearing the famous Mega Hat, Make America Great Again hat, and he had been punched

and pepper sprayed. His story was chronicled in a Washington Post article, and he told me that he thought he was assaulted probably because of the color of his skin. He thought that the altercation would not have occurred but for the fact that he was an African American supporting the president. I also met people who were expressed skepticism about Donald Trump and some of the other points brought up by the speakers throughout the conference. So make no mistake, the people at the summit weren't being indoctrinated. They weren't being told how to think. They were being educated. And they can obviously think for themselves.

And I think the summit stayed true to its name. It really was a summit of leaders, people who could think for themselves. So you mentioned that there were some libertarians, some conservatives, which of course this reminds me of CPAC, the conservative political action conference, which every year gets thousands of young adults. And it always seems like there's massive, you know, hallway brawls essentially, not really, but sort of ideologically between the libertarians and conservatives. What were some issues you maybe saw some different approaches or thoughts on? Well, I think a big part, the issue of abortion, for instance, obviously that divides America. America more broadly, but even within the black community, there are strong emotions on both sides. In a discussion between, as I mentioned before, Roland Martin and other attendees, abortion was a

contentious issue. People were framing it as a right. Others were framing it as murder or the deprivation of life. So I think that there really isn't a solid agreement within the black community a consensus on these issues. It's a matter of getting these voices heard. If the American public heard more from black conservatives, they would realize that black conservatives are not a monolith. They are, in fact, just as divided and diverse as the rest of the American public. Other issues of concern would obviously be the role of the news media. Many attendees expressed to me that they thought the news media had lost credibility with them. Even though they were skeptical of Trump, they said they were willing to give Trump a chance

based on the media's reporting on Trump alone. One individual told me, I'm skeptical of Trump, but if Trump were all bad, why is the media making up so many lies about him? So in other words, it's not that people aren't skeptical of Trump. it's that they're actually skeptical of the media. And I think that, again, we can't take it for granted that a Democratic voting block, quote, unquote, believes the media hook, line, and sinker. There are actually a lot of skeptical, thoughtful people in the African American community

who have looked toward Trump because the media has overplayed its hand or has reported not in good faith. Well, you mentioned that these really are leaders. They were at a leadership summit. what kinds of aspirations did they express for their own futures? Well, here's the thing. Turning Point cast the summit in political terms. The president said that there were many individuals who possibly wanted to be president one day. He even asked that at the summit and many people applauded, many people raised their hands.

There was definitely enthusiasm for future political aspirations. The people I talked to, the attendees I talked to, didn't necessarily have political aspirations. They were oftentimes students, they were government contractors, they were interns who dealt with coding. Keep in mind, a lot of these professions are typically liberal, but these people were conservatives or libertarians and they are bucking the trend. So I think that even if not all the attendees had overtly political aspirations, I think that they, felt the need to come to a conference in Washington, D.C., and hear the president speak and meet other like-minded individuals because their own places of work or their own environments, such as universities, simply don't offer them that kind of opportunity.

At the end of the day, I think it's safe to say that these people are successful and they will go far. They certainly are in positions that pay well enough. And I think that nothing is foreclosed for anyone in America, and these people are the reason why, because there's no shortage of ambition. The first step to any kind of ambition, especially political aspiration, is to stand out and to stand for what you believe in. And that's what every attendee I talked to did. Yeah, and just so many great quotes that you got for this article. I think one that really stood out for me was from James Boone, 32 of Bowie, Maryland, who's a government contract. and he said, quote, you're supposed to be oppressed, you're supposed to be victimized by things

like that didn't happen in your lifetime, which I thought was interesting. You know, as we continue to debate in this country about the best way to deal with, you know, at times, obviously our shameful history on race. That was an interesting perspective. But I know that this conference ended up stirring quite a bit of controversy and that Kanye West said he was not involved with Brexit, which is about blacks exiting the Democrat, party, but that was after the conference. And did Kanye, who of course has met with President Trump has been saying a lot of unorthodox things, shall we say, did he come up at all in your

conversations? Yes, he did. Most people that I talked to were fairly enthusiastic about what Kanye did. They think he definitely was bringing attention to the issue of the idea that black Americans are a monolith. They aren't. Kanye is a clear example of that, and he's known worldwide. Some people did obviously think that Kanye could have used a little, say, wordsmithing or could have been more coherent and with a stated objective in meeting with the president. But most of the people, as I said, thought it was a step in the right direction. And I think that's what a lot of black Americans at this conference are really craving for. They're craving for more leaders in the black community who represent them.

This is not just a matter of someone looking like them. It's someone who thinks like them, who believes in things that they believe in. And I think, again, this is just another way that the leftist narrative on black Americans is being deconstructed. Black Americans don't just think on the surface, they think beyond skin color. And so if we're going to talk about representation, we should probably be asking more people like these attendees, What kind of thinkers they want to see in various positions of power or in the media or even at political conferences? Black Americans who are conservative want to see black Americans who are conservative represent them. Well, it was a fantastic article and we encourage all of our listeners to give it a read.

Troy, thanks so much for being on and sharing. Thank you for having me on. Next up, we'll talk about whether Christmas is starting way too early this year. Liberals have pretty much cornered the market on 101-style podcasts that break down tough policy issues in the news. Until now, did you know that every week Heritage Explains intermingles personal stories, news clips, and facts from heritage experts to help explain some of today's hardest issues from a conservative perspective? Look for Heritage Explains on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, it's only November 2nd, but Starbucks is already getting festive. Starbucks unveiled four new cup designs for the Christmas season,

all of which are a bit sentimental. There's a two-toned red cup. There's a flora cup with berries. There's the espresso hounds tooth cup. And finally, this is kind of my favorite, the Stargile Cup, which is basically an Argyle sweater design with stars all over it. Kate, your thoughts on this year's cups. I think I like the Stargile Cup the least, so we're not going to agree on that.

Look, I promptly got irritated as soon as I read this. I don't really care how Starvix designs their cups. Well, okay, side note, I do think they could have done a better job. Like, I feel like if they were going for vintage designs, there were infinitely cooler ones before they picked. So I'm a little bit bummed out about that, especially because, I mean, they have money up the wazoo. They could afford, like, the best prints. Anyway, that is a side note. I don't recall them having their holiday cups out this early before.

I could be wrong about that, though. No one in the office seemed to know one way or the other, so that isn't fact-checked. But November 2nd, we are like four weeks away, three and a half weeks away from Thanksgiving. This is too early. Like, Christmas should not overtake Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays we have. It is something that, frankly, we could all use a lot more gratitude in our lives as a marriage. There's a lot we take for granted.

And part of the wonderfulness of Christmas is its brief duration. I don't think everyone would be so lovely if they had to maintain it for two months. So that's an interesting point you make because we do sort of treat Thanksgiving now as like just the big gateway door to the Christmas season. You know, it's Black Friday. It's literally the night of Thanksgiving when you're supposed to be falling asleep on the couch watching football. Which I have written at least one op at against. Have you? Yes.

I am very against. Black Friday is fine. I find it reprehensible that companies are asking people to work Thanksgiving night to start Black Friday early. And I find it appalling that people are leaving their Thanksgiving celebrations to go buy stuff, especially a lot of people who work in retail. They are working minimum wage or hourly wage jobs. And their schedules are all over the place. So it's unlikely that they and their loved ones all have weekends off. So getting time off together is rare, and I think they should have Thanksgiving.

And for crying out loud, you can buy it online. Just don't buy in a store for one 24-hour period. You can do it. That's true. Cyber Monday is becoming a much bigger deal, I think, than Black Friday, because you don't have to fight the lines. You don't have to be up at 2 in the morning. Have you gone Black Friday shopping?

Oh, yeah. I've gotten up at 3. Bennett Coles at 4 a.m. Live my best life. drank a lot of coffee. Yeah, I'm not a big fan. I have found that at least for what I want, the discounts aren't worth it. But I've gone, this is a embarrassing admission. I've gone twice, but pretty much all of it was for myself because I wanted to get like a polo sports coat for $80 that usually costs like $300. Was it worth it? Yeah, I still wear it.

Okay. Well, that's, actually, I would, I would love to know what percentage of Black Friday shopping is not for gifts. Yeah. I think that would be interesting because I bet a lot of it is. Right, just talking up on ordinary things. Well, I mean, I look.

I mean, I was telling a friend recently who was debating whether to buy a TV or not. Just wait until Black Friday. So you also reject Christmas music before Thanksgiving. You think that needs to... Well, I think this goes back

to the larger point that Christmas should not be a two to three month season. Like, I think the specialness gets lost. And yeah, I think it overshadows Thanksgiving, which is and should be a legitimate holiday in its own right, but has a different, a different spirit, a different reason than Christmas, obviously. But I also think, yeah, I don't know. It's sort of weird to me.

And I mean, I do like Christmas decor and I do like Christmas trees. But like just looking at the sheer amount of Christmas decor available for sale and, like, noticing more and more like people. are redoing their entire house. And again, I'm walking a very thin line here, so I'm not a hypocrite. But anyway, there just needs to be a level of obsession here. And yeah, I really think we risk sort of destroying maybe this magical brief moment. Because we're commercializing it. Well, I mean, come on.

That's a complaint as old as probably, you know, the Sears Roebuck catalog in the 1890s or whatever. But, I mean, I just don't start it in November. Like things are often more precious when they have a shorter duration. Yeah. Well, I always found that, you know, the best part of Christmas season was the anticipation. You know, you're waiting for Christmas Day. And the anticipation is almost better than Christmas Day, in my opinion. Really?

Yeah. So growing up, my sister and I, we used to have a, I guess it was like a calendar that we would put little Velcro pictures on. You didn't an Advent calendar? It was not Advent. We didn't do that. She's giving me that, oh, you're a Baptist look. No, sorry, I have nothing against Baptist. I just think, like, I feel like what you were using was certainly a rip off of an Advent

calendar, if not one itself. It could have been. I hear you that you were not celebrating the Advent bit. It was, all it was was a little calendar that we hung up that was a shape of a Christmas tree, and we would put these little Velcro things on the tree for each day, and we would always save baby Jesus for the last one and put him at the top. And then it was Christmas. And so each day we get closer and closer and closer.

And it was great. It was anticipation. Yeah, I don't know. I always enjoyed Christmas Day itself. I mean, I think Christmas night's a little bit sad. But I always felt like Christmas Day was just like between the church being absolutely gorgeous and then the presents and then that sort of like warm, cozy feeling of eating far too much sugar. And like just sort of like you and your siblings all dying together. Yeah.

It was just, I don't know. I do like Christmas a lot. Well, I'm with you on the post- Thanksgiving rule. Like, you've got to wait until Thanksgiving. Yes. And I am actually, like, sort of terrible in the, like, the day after Thanksgiving. I will switch to Christmas music and listen to it for a month. But, like, I do wait until the day after.

So, in a sense, you've given in to the over-Christmast-ization of everything. That's why I said I had to walk a thin line. There's a lot. Well, for some. some reason, you know, in our family, it's always always been a very strict rule. No Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. And then, like, usually the day after Thanksgiving, we put up the Christmas tree. But for some reason, this year, my parents are already listening to Christmas music. It's like- Parents get really decadent in their older age. I have noticed my parents

abandoned some standards as well. I feel myself. I'm the defender of tradition now in our family, which is weird. Well, but. I don't know. I get it. Like, you're retired. Why, or your parents aren't? But why do you have to keep doing it? I don't know. The big thing in our family is who puts up the Christmas tree because we have to have fake because of all the allergies. And now that everyone's grown up, like no one's super into it.

But my dad is like, I had children for a reason. And it was so that I never had to do this. But I think he actually did do it last year. So thanks, Dad. Well, we will leave it there for today. Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Signal podcast, brought to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. Please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google,

play or SoundCloud, and please leave us a review or rating on iTunes to give us any feedback. Rob and Jenny will be with you on Monday. You've been listening to The Daily Signal podcast, executive produced by Kate Trinko and Daniel Davis. Sound design by Michael Gooden, Lauren Evans, and Thalia Rampersad. For more information, visitdailySignal.com.