'Could've been phrased better': Ben Carson uncomfortable with Trump's 'Black jobs' remark
One of the moments of Thursday night's debate that went poorly for former President Donald Trump was when he proclaimed that Joe Biden is "allowing" migrants to come through the border and "they're taking Black jobs and they're taking Hispanic jobs" — a remark that swiftly generated outrage, as many Black commentators inferred he was saying Black people are better fit for menial, low-wage labor.
Even Ben Carson, a former neurosurgeon and right-wing commentator who served as one of the highest-ranking Black people in Trump's Cabinet, appeared to be somewhat uncomfortable as he tried to defend Trump's words to CNN's Phil Mattingly on Friday.
"There was also another comment that the former president made moves, asked what he'd say to Black voters who are disappointed with the progress so far, the campaign's clearly made this a focus. They believe they've made some inroads, polling seems to back that up," said Mattingly, playing the clip. "There are issues there in the sense that Black unemployment right now is the lowest that it's been in history. There are certainly economic concerns the Black community, while not a monolith, may have. But I guess my question for you is, do you know what a 'Black job' is?"
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"Well, I know what he was talking about," said Carson. "He's talking about people at the lower end of the economic scale, and that those frequently unskilled jobs or taken by people who come in here illegally, making them unavailable for our people. That's basically what he's saying. And probably could have been phrased in a better way."
"Yeah, that's what's I was gonna ask, especially as somebody with as accomplished and successful as a professional career as you've had, it seems to generalize in a way that I would think would be somewhat offensive," said Mattingly.
"You know, what we really have to do is start not picking apart what people say, but actually asking what is the meaning of what they're saying?" said Carson. "And that's become a problem on all sides. People reading too much into it. And not just looking at what someone is doing. You know, I was glad we had the debate last night, because so many people take their news only from one source, from a source that they agree with philosophically. People need to hear other sides, and people need to begin to understand that just because somebody is in disagreement with you, doesn't make them your enemy."
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Phil Mattingly confronts Ben Carson about Trump's "Black jobs" remark www.youtube.com