White House Correspondent explains Donald Trump's Race Relations

AUSTIN, TX— Americans are more divided than ever along racial lines, according to White House Correspondent and former New York Times Reporter Yamiche Alcindor.

“Essentially, we’re a country that has absolutely found itself fighting over race and racial issues but also confronting them in a way that we really haven’t before,” Alcindor said. “So, for a journalist who’s really interested in the White House and race, this is a perfect time to be a White House Correspondent.”

During a Jan. 28 interview on “Overheard with Evan Smith,” Alcindor explained her thoughts on race relations under the Trump administration to a live studio audience of nearly 200. Alcindor, who covered the Trump campaign and the intersection of race and politics in African American communities during her two and a half years at the Times, currently reports on President Trump’s daily activities and personal life, including his late-night tweets, at the “PBS NewsHour.” She added that his relationship with the African American community has been complicated for many years.

​“So I think there’s that aspect that definitely he is someone who is probably a charming, charismatic person. But then, if you look at the historical Donald Trump… if you look at the person who was sued by the Justice Department because he was discriminating against people and saying that African Americans shouldn’t be living in his building, I think then you get a clearer picture of who he is in terms of policy and his views in terms of people of color,” Alcindor said.

​Alcindor also emphasized the complexity of the president’s persona and voiced her concerns that the current administration has changed not only in its perception of the media as the “enemy of the people” but also in its relationship with the African American community.

​“I interviewed his black ex-girlfriend [model Kara Young], and she said he would talk about African Americans and be surprised that they liked tennis, but he also really liked hanging out with African American celebrities. He liked hanging out with Russell Simmons. He liked hanging out with Al Sharpton. Jesse Jackson told me that he gave his organization space in his building for free…A complex person is who the president is,” Alcindor said.

​Alcindor is a first-generation American and the daughter of Haitian parents. In her first week as White House Correspondent, President Trump reportedly decried Haiti as a “shithole” country from which the United States should “stop receiving immigrants.” Although she did not directly address the statement, she talked about her experiences dealing with offensive statements and brought up past experiences with racist Trump supporters on the campaign trail.

​“I interviewed some White Supremacists right before the Cleveland Convention who said for the first time in their lifetime they were excited about a presidential candidate,” Alcindor said. “That tells you that something’s going on there and that the language that the people are using in this administration is sending off notes, whether intentionally or unintentionally, sending off messages to people who think that people like me shouldn’t be here.”

​Show host and fellow journalist Evan Smith, whose previous interview guests include President Obama and Gloria Steinem, shared his thoughts regarding the “culture” of the Donald Trump presidency.

​“The fact that we’re having the conversation about the experience of being a black woman covering this White House tells you something about this White House,” Smith said.

UT’s Associate Professor of the Department of Educational Leadership, Dr. Richard J. Reddick, said that the Trump administration is to blame for a new culture all over the United States. Reddick has courtesy appointments in both the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies and the Warfield Center of African and African American Studies.

“There has been an increase in hate crimes, and especially those in the class of race. It’s even been termed the ‘Trump Effect’—a spike in hate crimes in November 2016…This entire presidency has been a continual exposition of the candidate’s racism and embrace of White Supremacy, and predictably but sadly, there is a subpopulation that this message resonates with.”

When Smith directly asked Alcindor if she believed Donald Trump to be a racist, she said she could not comment.

​“I don’t think as a reporter I should be out there saying that Donald Trump is one way or the other. I think I can lay out for people what he said and they can make their decision,” Alcindor said.

​Austin resident and repeat “Overheard” visitor, non-profit employee Ann Baddour, was in the audience for Alcindor’s talk and said, “She was very clear that she wasn’t an advocate. She’s not there to give anyone her opinion. Also, since our country is a very diverse country, having the profession of journalism reflect that diversity greatly helps all of us.”

​Alcindor concluded by saying that she is looking forward to seeing what the Trump administration will do in terms of its relationship with the African American community.

​“This is a great time to cover an administration that says that they want to do a lot of different things for people, want to essentially ‘help African Americans out’ he [Donald Trump] said. I think I’m really interested to see what that actually turns into,” said Alcindor.