December 25, 2025 • 51 mins
Merry Christmas . BIN news anchors Teri McCready + Kevin Brown join Podcast Host Ramses Ja to recap this week's major stories
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the bin.
Today we are joined by bi in news anchors Terry
McCready and Kevin Brown to discuss this week's major stories.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
This is the QR Code and.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm your host, ramses Jah. All right, Terry and Kevin,
welcome back to the show. Terry, Chris tells me you've
been up to to some good. What's the latest and
greatest in your world?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, you know it, Chris just mentioned, you know, welcome back.
It felt wonderful to be in Saint Bart's. What an
amazing place. I had the time of my life.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yes, and right now I just want to say the
least no chevna weyna, which is Merry Christmas eve Eve.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
You may okay, okay?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
And Kevin, hopefully you haven't been up to no good.
What's the latest in your world?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Oh no, every day is a good day. Getting ready
for the holidays. And of course Terry promised you'd bring
something special back, and so I'm looking forward to a
very special holiday.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I see what you did there. I love that. All right, Well,
let's get to the news first.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Up twenty twenty five saw the largest increase in unemployment
for black women in decades. Fortunately, a few courageous black
leaders recently used their voices and positions of power to
bring much needed attention to this crisis. Terry, let's get
today's show started with you tell us more about our
first story, and then Kevin, we'll get your thoughts next.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Okay, So the snapshot is black representatives I'm know Presley
and Yvette Clark, who also happens to be the chairwoman
of the Congressional Black Caucus, and they are together pushing
for the Federal Reserve Board's immediate action on this crisis.
And that is exactly what we're seeing. It's about an
eight and a half percent unemployment rate among Black Americans,
(01:50):
and of course they're blaming it on Trump's policies. So
lawmakers and advocates are sort of galvanizing efforts they want
to hone in on solutions. It's all unfurling in a
very very big way, and it's taking place as the president.
Actually it's perpendicular to the President hopscotching the country pitching
(02:11):
his positive economic outlook. And once again, it's a warshock
test when it comes to the plight of American purse rings.
There are major distortions happening on the subject of affordability.
Since Trump entered his second term, the black unemployment number
has been ascending, and it's been happening at an alarming clip.
(02:31):
Some of it is sort of, you know, the federal workforce,
because of the federal workforce purge and annihilation of DEDI
and Presley says the Fed can recalibrate the trajectory by
underscoring a fair economy in response to the administration's reckless policies.
And by the way, I just took a look at
a gallop pole this morning showing that overall, sixty eight
(02:55):
percent of respondents say economic conditions for them at least
are worsening.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Kevin, Yes, this is a surgic It's been surgically applied
from Project twenty twenty five. There is no coincidence that,
in addition to the DOGE cuts, the Elon Musk under
(03:23):
the guise of making government more efficient, that they have
targeted their opponents, democrats, and the foundation of black culture
by attacking government jobs and then as not only attacking
(03:46):
government jobs and government black institutions, but also hindering the
government's ability to project or report accurately on what's happening
the consequences of those layoffs. The unemployment rate is just
(04:10):
the tip of the iceberg. In Virginia and in Maryland,
the number of just in the first just in twenty
twenty five as a result of the targeted government cuts
and in and around DC, in Virginia and in Maryland,
(04:30):
black people are disproportionately represented as government employees. That the
not only is the unemployment rate up, but the number
of homes for sale have increased by at least twenty
five percent. So not only are Republicans treating the American
(04:59):
public like mushrooms, keep you in the dark and feed
you garbage, they're distorting the information that's coming out, and
they are surgically targeting black people.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting and funny that you mentioned
Project twenty twenty five because the intersection of Project twenty
twenty five, which is, you know, basically a playbook, and
the overall premise and intention of Trump and his administration
(05:51):
to make America great again. You know, when you look
at that facet of it, you have to consider when
was America great? And since we're talking about black unemployment.
(06:13):
You harken back to a time when there was full
white employment, and this happened sometime in between the late thirties,
and it lasted mostly through the seventies, or at least
until the seventies.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And prior to this.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Chapter in American history, there was a concerted effort, there
was a movement, an organized push for full white employment,
white male employment in this country. You're not going to
hire anybody Black, You're not going to hire anybody Mexican,
(06:59):
none of that stuff, unless white men are employed at
one hundred percent. Right now, that's kind of crazy, because
you know, employment a lot in a lot of places
depends on proximity and skills and that sort of thing.
But the sentiment was widely shared. You know, you can
(07:23):
go back and look it up if you want to
confirm all of this. But yeah, there was virtually. I mean,
there's no such thing as one hundred percent employment under capitalism.
Capitalism needs people to be unemployed in order for capitalism
to work, in order for wages to be low enough
to make a capitalistic machine run. But yeah, virtually one
(07:47):
hundred percent white men employed in the United States of
America between nineteen call it nineteen forty and nineteen seventy.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So again, Making America Great Again.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Perhaps looks back to that chapter insofar as their economic policy,
insofar as their civil rights strategy, right, and Project twenty
twenty five, of course, is the playbook how do we
get there? And so I think you're more right than
(08:21):
you know, Kevin, because this being a targeted and strategic
attack on black Americans, it.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Bears out in the data. This is the result of that.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And given the premise and the push and the agenda
of Trump's movement that make America Great Again movement, and
given the fact that Project twenty twenty five is I know,
it's over half completed, that is the natural and logical conclusion.
I think that anybody that tries to fute that is
(09:01):
ignoring the reality of the situation. Yeah, there are convenient
ways of explaining why this administration is doing what it's doing. Oh,
we want everyone to be treated equal, really, because when
you look at the outcomes, not everyone is being treated equal.
When you look at the unemployment rate, it's not affecting
(09:21):
everyone equally, right, but those that's a convenient thing to say,
so that the people that are helping support a racist agenda.
Don't have to feel as though they're supporting a racist agenda,
right they can feel like, oh, no, equality for everyone.
And you know, I know and talk to people like
this all the time, and when I break it down
(09:42):
for them, they're like, oh my god, this is absolutely correct.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
So it's unfortunate. But I think knowing is half the battle.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I mean, I don't think that we're going to teach
black women anything in this moment. Black women knew this
would happen. Black women obviously showed up at the polls
and voted so that this wouldn't happen. This is on
the shoulders of the rest of us, I say us,
because although black men voted for a more progressive agenda
that included black women and their financial and civil destinies,
(10:19):
there was too many black men that voted in lockstep
with this Make America Great Again Project twenty twenty five movement.
And so I would offer to the conversation that we
black men also have some growing to do here. But
(10:40):
I think John Hope Bryant puts it best is that
this country could not and would not survive at present
simply on the backs of white men. They don't have
the skill set they don't have that they're not enough
of them in the workforce. And there are this part,
(11:00):
I'll add, there are a lot of blind spots when
it comes to white men trying to operate on a
global level. White men just lacked the perspective. Any singular
group woul lack the perspective of an entire planet. And
so this is one of those things where you know,
we might see a little bit of bump for them
(11:21):
in the short run, and you know, America loses its
footing as the the financial hub and the powerhouse of
the planet in the long run. And again, John Hopebrien
makes that argument a lot better than I could, But
I certainly believe that he's another person that is going
to give you a data driven argument for his position,
(11:43):
not vibes or feelings. So so yeah, moving on. Our
next story starts with the following quote from EEOC chair
Andrea Lucas and reads s follows quote. If you're a
white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on
your race or sex, you may have a claim to
recover money under federal civil rights laws. Unquote, Kevin, there's
(12:06):
a big story here to discuss, So let's start with
you give us more details on this story, and then
Terry will get your thoughts next.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
This is a strategy to convince white men that they're
victims when they are ninety percent of over ninety percent
of Congress, the Supreme Court, business owners. But the narrative
that the Republicans want to use in order to maintain
(12:39):
power is to convince white people that they are victims,
which brings me to that famous Lyndon former President Lyndon
Johnson quote, if you can convince the lowest white man
he's better than the best colored man. He won't notice
(12:59):
you picking his pocket. Give him someone to look down on,
and he'll empty his pockets for you. One of the
most incredible images of this fourth quarter as a result
(13:20):
of the Trump policies is that states Red states who
voted for this economic vision of the president, many of
those states have of lines for food, free food as
businesses are because of tariffs and policies of the Trump administration.
(13:46):
A lot of the states Red states are suffering, and
those very same individuals who voted for this direction for
the economy are so. However, you won't hear the administration,
or for that matter, mass media, address the truth of
(14:13):
the situation. They'll continue to say that everything is okay,
which is one of the reasons that one of the
first things the president and the administration did was to
intimidate media outlets, newspapers, and television so that they would
not report the absolute truth. I have yet to see
(14:37):
any of the networks report on the food lines in
red States. You'll see it online from independent media, but
you won't see it reflected in mass in traditional media.
So it is one of the tools that the am illustration.
(15:00):
Once again hate to keep harping on this project twenty
twenty five, but this is a targeted strategy. Unfortunately, when
we talk about black unemployment, it is fascinating that a
(15:21):
president who has it was married to an immigrant, a
vice president who is similarly situated, manage to convince Americans
that immigrants are the problem, hence ice raids all around
the country. It is a strategy that is short term,
(15:48):
promotes great visual images for the magabase, but the reality
is in the numbers and what the economy is doing.
Be a turnaround because the people who voted for this
did not vote for this. They thought they were getting
other people and targeting other people. It is a fascinating
(16:13):
approach to what the overall goal is is to keep
rich people rich and poor people poor.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Kerry.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Yeah, So indeed, this is breathtaking. This issue takes manufactured
victimization to new and even lofty heights in its absurdity,
especially with the Vice President saying over the weekend at
a Turning Point USA event, he said, you no longer
have to apologize for being white. So that's a thing now, right,
(16:49):
And now with the EEOC chair saying that, you know,
it's a big tent and they're looking to, you know,
eliminate discrimination of everyone of every stripe. It feels contrived
and it's an almost inverted reverse DEI dynamic no white
man left behind trope. And it is not at all
(17:11):
surprising with this EEOC being a thoroughly utilitarian component for
the Trump administration, which is right now running itself into
a knackered fever to unravel decades in place of legislation
that actually address very real racial inequality.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Yeah, I think you're both right. This administration, you know,
as I mentioned, this administration has preyed upon white men
(17:52):
and stoked their fears and whipped up their anger. White
men believed in the promise of the American dream, perhaps
to the degree that they were vulnerable at this point.
(18:16):
The rest of us who are not white men, kind
of hoped for it. But I think if we're painting
with broad strokes, white men believed in it. I thought
they were going to grow up and be rock stars
and rocket scientists and NFL players and CEOs and millionaires
and whatever. And billionaires have stolen the American dream from
(18:48):
all of us, But white men were the ones who
felt the most entitled to that.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
They had no reason not to.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Assume that if they worked hard, they would end up rich,
with a beautiful wife and a perfect family and all
that sort of stuff, right, that American dream. And when
you get to, you know, your thirties, and things haven't
(19:22):
quite panned out in your forties, and you're looking around
and you need somebody to blame because obviously you did
what you were told.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Where's this American dream?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
When you hear folks from the left say white privilege,
then you look at them like, yo, that sounds crazy.
I wish I had some white privilege. And they think
that privilege is like a bonus check or something like,
because it sounds like that, And what we have meant
is that the privilege is getting to start at the
(19:55):
starting line, getting to start at zero, not starting by
behind the starting line. So they think, hey, running this
race is hard. We all have to run the same race.
And we know running the race is hard, but we
have to run an even harder race with even more hurdles.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Right. And so when someone comes along as I as
I mentioned.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
And says, you know, we're going to make America great again,
the again refers to the time in this country's history
when there was as near as it makes no difference,
full white male employment between nineteen forty and nineteen seventy,
when you could have a job and just have a
job and become rich working at that job. If you
(20:41):
had some ambition, you could do even more than that. Right,
And so this new ruling class step sin the Maga
movement and they say, hey, immigrants have taken the American
dream from you.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
They poison the blood of America.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
And you know, all these black people fighting for civil rights,
you know, to a white male, it looks like, hey,
you guys have the same rights as I do. Because
who gets into the weeds, who looks at the data?
They're just looking at Lebron James he's a billionaire. They're
looking at Michael Jordan and Oprah and Obama. Why don't
all you black people just do what they did?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Right?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
They don't look at those people like, oh, these are anomalies.
These are people who are lucky, these are people born
with extraordinary gifts. They're not looking at the data saying, hey,
data tends to favor these outcomes for these people. Now,
Cassim Rashid, who's been a guest on the show, put
up a post recently. I think that explains this data
(21:43):
a little bit better, and I think that it illustrates
what a lot of white men have been missing and
points out why a lot of white men have been
susceptible to this racist rhetoric from this administration and from
you know, far right movements, Nazism and white supremacy and
KKK stuff and all that. So Cassim says, in the
(22:07):
United States of America, you don't have to be you
don't have to apologize for being white anymore. That's a
quote from the lady we were talking about earlier.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
And then he says, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
The crowd rars, So he adds this, Historically, white men
are ninety eight percent of the presidents, ninety eight percent
of the Senate, ninety four percent of Supreme Court justices,
ninety one percent of the House of Representatives, ninety percent
(22:40):
of CEOs. This is white men ninety percent of CEOs historically,
and historically white men are thirty percent of the population.
So they're overrepresented in all of these areas of influence
where they get to shape society. This isn't talking about
how white men are overrepresented in police forces. This doesn't
talk mayors, This doesn't talk about upper management in your business. Right,
(23:06):
So I'll finish his tweet here or his post. It says,
imagine the fragility of using genocide and slavery to control
one hundred percent of the US government and economy for
two hundred plus years, but claiming victimhood because now you
only control ninety five percent. And so this is the
conversation that we're having where now these white men are
(23:29):
feeling like victims, and now they have a mechanism to
air out their grievances. Oh, at my job, I was
discriminated against. There was a black woman hired over me
because she was black. You know, she was equally competent
at minimum, she was equally competent. But again, that sense
(23:51):
of entitlement to the American dream was right for co
option if you will, from or co opting. Maybe that's
how I say that from this administration. And so we
end up here, and this administration is delivering on their
(24:11):
promise to white men at the expense of everyone else.
Brown people. Oh, the brown people, legal or illegal. I
have been suffering under this administration. That discrimination has spiked
black people. We just talked about black unemployment higher than
it was during COVID when nobody had jobs. And white
(24:34):
men are feeling like, yeah, we got our guy in
the office. It's our turn. And so for those of
us to look at that like, oh, you have voted
for racism because you harbor racist sentiments, you know, I
think there's a valid argument to be made there. And
for the white men who say there's not a racist
bone in my body, it shows that they're blinded to
(24:55):
the reality of these circumstances that they're being used to
enrich the billionaire class. Even further, so's to a sad
state that we're in.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Hey, what's up.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
This is Rams's Jah and I am q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher, our weekly
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Speaker 1 (25:16):
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That's civiic cip h e er right here in the app.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Bi In News anchors Terry McCready and Kevin Brown are
here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
Next up, rap star Nicki Minaj has millions of fans,
but her recent political affiliations have left many folks confused
and concerned about the true motive behind her actions. Terry,
let's hear more about this story from you first, and
then Kevin, we'll get your thought next.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
So Nicki MINAJE, guess who's coming to dinner? And my
first thought was Gloria Gaynor earned which I guess now
it's the Trump Kennedy Center Honors. She was acknowledged this year.
Obviously it was well deserved. Who does not love Gloria Gaynor.
So maybe next year Minage will have her turn, because
(26:21):
being a sycophant to this administration has proven expedient more
often than we can even ever begin to calculate. And
for her part, Nicki held Governor Gavin Newsom California to
formidable scrutiny, but praise President Trump for his quixotic and
dashing demeanor. We're talking about the same President Trump. Apparently
(26:44):
the glue sealing the Minage Maga kinship is Christianity, so
particularly we're talking about Christian persecution in Nigeria. That was
kind of her baby, that she really decided that she
was just pressed by this administration's actions. But then she
took a pivot and she took a jab at Newsom, saying,
(27:08):
imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids,
which was completely bizarre. And if ever there was a
thought that required a little more nuance, that had to
be the one. Oh by the way, Nikki also called
Vice President Van's a role model.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
That's all I've got. End of story.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
Kevin Well, as the Nicki Minaj fan on the panel today,
I was before we started, I was listening to anaconda
bees in a trap and did it on them during
(27:49):
my morning workout, and who could forget super Freak Girl
the classics from Nicki minaje. It's always interesting when people
who are in entertainment when they they're out of their
(28:10):
lane into politics because they're ill informed and they are
basically being used and exploited by people with money. While
Nicki was holding up the Republican flag and the flag
for Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica, turning point USA, the Internet
(28:36):
is undefeated because they also provided quotes from Charlie about Nicki. Quote.
She's a bad role model, is what Charlie Kirk said
about Nicki Minaj's close quote. So this is just an
example of Hey, Nikki, do you want to make some money?
(29:00):
We'll give you this if you get on stage and
say that. Out of all the people who are qualified
to express views on these situations, Nicki Minaj is not
high on the list. And as a result of not
staying in her lane, she was exposed to her fans
(29:23):
as not being, as Kendrick said, not like us.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Yeah, yeah, we got a chance to talk about this
earlier in the week. You and I spoke on this
and I don't want to add something to you know,
what I said earlier in the week.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I stand by what I said earlier in the week, but.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
I'm not really into celebrity pop culture tabloid gossip stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Anymore.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
When I was doing like hip hop radio, I had
to be all over that stuff. But you know, internet
beats between rappers is kind of not my thing these days.
But I do have a vague recollection of there being
some back and forth recently about Nicki Minaj and Cardi
B and I, if I remember correctly, Nicki Minaj got
(30:31):
the worst of that by a long way. Cardi and
fifty Cent are two people that I don't think anybody
wants to play with on the internet because they are ruthless.
Speaker 4 (30:46):
And.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Nicki Minaj is married to.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
I believe a sex offender is like a registered sex
offend or something like that. And I'm not sure I've
heard it said, but I don't want to lean into this,
but just so that you understand how I kind of
arrived at this additional thought, someone suggested to me that
(31:12):
she might have been cozying up to Trump to get
a part in either for him or maybe someone else
in her world.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
That you know, whatever the case is. But I think
the thrust of.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Nicky's departure from I think what the three of us
would refer to a sanity, but you know, from let's
call it politics as usual. I think that that is
based on a human condition, something that we all share. Now,
(31:49):
I don't want to suggest, by any stretch of the imagination,
that I believe that black people are incapable of leaning conservative.
I know that to be false. You know, there are
black people that have conservative views and they feel justified
in those conservative views. I don't know that Nicki Minaj
(32:13):
is one of those people. I think that Nicki Minaj
finds herself on a turning point USA stage because human
beings have a need for a community. If you get rejected,
if you feel embarrassed, if you feel not welcomed in
(32:34):
a community, then you will seek a community that will
embrace you. This is part of a conversation that Q
and I have been having for a long time about
forgiving people that make mistakes. You know, people that have
resurfaced videos that have them saying or doing something that
(32:56):
we as black people don't like. You know, everybody should
be able to be forgiven at least one time. There
are people that would argue that they should only be
forgiven at most one time, but you know, at least
one time if people come to the table and they
seem remorseful and so forth, forgiving them and welcoming them
(33:20):
back into the family, if you will, fortifies our numbers,
prevents the opposition numbers from being fortified, because if we
don't embrace them, then they will defect and go find
a community that.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Will accept them.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Right, And I think that it's more consistent with you know,
who we are as people. And I think Nicki found herself.
And again I'm adding this to all the other reasons
why she might be doing this, but I think that
this might be another reason why Niki finds herself on
(33:59):
that turning point USA stage supporting a person that would
never support her, didn't think highly of her at all,
And is there talking about how the president is attractive
and whatever, you know, all that sort of stuff that
we know is just that's just not how she feels, right,
Nicki is a person that feels rejected by hip hop
(34:27):
because Cardi B Has effectively stepped into her place as
the queen of you know, hip hop music, and then
with her and Cardi b at odds and her getting
the worst of that, she feels further displaced from her
(34:47):
what she might feel is her rightful seat, and so
doing whatever she can do to get attention, to get headlines,
to get community. I feel like that might be the
path that she's on right now, seeking validate. She can
have all the money in the world and all the whatever,
but validation goes a long way. And then, of course,
what I said earlier in the week, her proximity to whiteness,
(35:08):
that's not something that goes away just because you get
a lot of money. And you know, all the other
things that I said, you know, they're well stated. I
don't need to repeat them here, but you know, it's
a it's a convergence, and we can definitely see something
like this. But I if Nicki Minaj was a conservative
leaning person, I think that we would have found that
out a long time ago.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Uh. One of the biggest storylines from last year's presidential
election is the discussion about our country's willingness to elect
a female president. On a recent episode of his new
podcast entitled Straight Shooter, sports host Stephen A. Smith debated
this topic with Congressman James Clyburn, and the discussion got
quite fiery at times. Kevin, for today's final story, tell
(35:53):
us more about the points made during their conversation, and
then Terry will get your thoughts next.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
Yes, about somebody who straight out of their lane and
is struggling to maintain some credibility. Stephen A. Smith, attempting
to broaden his platform and appeal after signing a large
contract with the ESPN, thinks one of the best ways
(36:22):
to appeal to a broader audience is to this was
excuse me. This was a stunning strategy in terms of
trying to broaden his appeal by confronting Jim Clyburn from
South Carolina, who on politics and Stephen A. Smith is
(36:53):
ill equipped to discuss the issues of the day with
someone the likes of Jim Clyburn, who has lived through
many many of the issues that are affecting and has
first hand knowledge. Stephen A. Stands on the shoulders of
(37:16):
people like Jim Clydeburn for his access to the success
he owes Jim Clydeburn as opposed to confronting him about
politics and who is and the best way to move forward,
(37:37):
Stephen A. Smith should be quiet and listen to the
stories of a young man who lived through Jim Crow
in South Carolina. One of the more disturbing parts of
their conversation was Stephen A. As Reverend a Bishop Toutu
(38:07):
of South Africa went fighting apart. Time said, when you
remain neutral, you are siding with the oppressor. And to
hear Stephen A. Smith, who is an affirmative action baby,
(38:29):
all that he has, Stephen A. Smith is because of
the likes of people. The generation that Jim Clyburn represents
gave Stephen A. Smith access to all he owns today.
And to suggest the Representative Clyburn that both parties are
(38:57):
the wings of the same bird is disingenuous times one hundred.
I wish Representative Clydeburn would just show Stephen A. Smith
as he is defending and trying to water down the
intentional disin the intentional targeted attacks towards Black Americans. A
(39:33):
picture of the interns at the White House, a huge crowd,
maybe thirty forty interns, maybe even more than that, fifty
huge picture, not one person of color. That is what
Stephen A. Smith is spitting on everything that the civil
(40:04):
rights movement has tried to incorporate into this society. Stephen A.
Smith is spitting on that and saying, oh, it's rain,
It's not that bad. Oh, the Democrats are just as
bad as the Republicans. When one side is trying to
(40:26):
eliminate voting rights and one side is trying to make
it easier for everyone to vote, it was shameful and
embarrassing for stephen A. Smith.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Terry. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
So during this conversation, Smith argued that Kalala Harris's gender
had no impact on her loss to Trump. And so
I liked the fact that Clyburne did not miss abeat
calling Smith out as a man who, you know, basically
and correctly is a heat seeking missile out to disparage
(41:02):
black women on the daily and he's done this quite
a bit with Jasmine Crockett and Smith dug in his
heels blaming this seismic shift within the Democratic Party which
is just too far left enter Kamala Harris. Cliburne suggested
the party was hobbled by gender in the end. You know,
(41:23):
I think that's really a fair assessment. Smith seems to
be convinced that the country is ready for a madam president,
but it just has to be the right person, and
then for good measure, that's when he threw in Hillary
Clinton back in twenty sixteen versus Trump. She received almost
three million more of the popular vote than Trump. He
(41:44):
talked about one of the nation's most successful House speakers
in Nancy Pelosi, and of course the two female Democratic
governors elect one in New Jersey, one in Virginia. And
then I thought, hm, who would they enjoy seeing when
it comes to female possibilities, and if they try to
make a statement with a woman of color, not Nikki Haley.
(42:06):
I could see them all sort of coalescing behind a
Condulize Rice. But then I remember that, Okay, she's already
in her early seventies and she isn't married, because apparently
that's the law. You have to be married if you
want to tee up some sort of a campaign strategy
to be president. But I do see them talking a
lot about Conduliza Rice. They love her, they think she's wonderful,
(42:29):
and somebody like that I think probably would have a chance,
not for Democrats, but someone who I could see the
Republicans really pushing forward.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
This one is.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
I mean, longtime listeners know how I feel about this one.
This one's going to sound a little bit weird, though
for people just coming to this conversation.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
I'm not too mad at stephen A.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Smith here. I've made the argument myself that this country
has this country can elect a black woman black because
this country has indeed elected Barack Obama and woman because
(43:26):
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. That's an argument that
I've made on the show. I made this argument so
that black women would continue to be encouraged and continue
to seek elected office and to help shape this country.
I do recognize that the combination black woman is something
(43:49):
a little a little different, but I don't think that
this is an impossible hill to climb. I think it
would be too much to ask a black woman to
do it, because black women have done enough. But if
a black woman feels capable and willing to pursue that,
(44:11):
I think that, yes, there's there's a future where a
black woman is the president of the United States, and
it's in the near for you, within our lifetime. I
don't I don't see why that's not a possibility. So
if indeed that's what Stephen A. Smith was trying to say,
I'm in agreement with him. I think of Donald Trump
(44:35):
as a sort of a unique phenomenon. You take dejected,
demoralized Republicans after the Obama years, you know what I mean,
(44:58):
they suffered too, not just to Democratic losses, but you know,
they did have to live in the United States where
a black man was the president. And so for the
part of that party that would never vote for a
(45:19):
black man regardless, because they just don't see that as
the sort of country in which they want to live,
that was particularly troubling, right, And I'm not for a
moment excusing, you know, or ignoring that reality. There's just
some people that will never vote for someone black. Racism is,
(45:41):
you know, it exists in this country to exists in
other countries.
Speaker 2 (45:44):
I get that.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
But if I'm not going to have a racism argument,
like a Stephen A. Smith probably doesn't want to have
a racism argument, I got to look at things beyond
that now.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
I want to be very clear.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
I do realize that race plays a big part in
this country, always has But we can have the argument
either way, and I think we still come out with
the same you know, reality. You have a group of
people that feel financially worse off, a group of people
(46:22):
that feel that they are losing grounds in a country
that they feel entitled to. It might be in the
front of their mind, it might be in the back
of their mind. But you know on the right is
where these there's there's fertile ground for these seeds of
like eugenics and you know the great replacement theory and
(46:45):
you know Jewish space lasers, and you know, a massive
influx invasion at the southern border and all that sort
of stuff, right.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Because of the reality.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
The reality is that that white people as a percentage
are making up less and less of this country. And
you know, in another ten to twenty years, white people
will be a they will be the biggest minority group,
they will be less than fifty percent of the population,
meaning that white people will be less likely to be
(47:21):
able to shape the outcomes of white people exclusively.
Speaker 4 (47:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
And for white people that don't look at that as racism,
they just look at that as well, this is a
white country, that's.
Speaker 2 (47:32):
How it should be.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
That's racism, by the way, But for them that just
look at it like that's the way it should be.
The Obama years were very scary because you take the
Obama years coupled with the fact that you know, the
census says that, hey, you guys are losing ground in
terms of the composition of the population. Then they start
getting into conspiracies, you know, the Jews are replacing us
(47:54):
and all that weird stuff. Donald Trump comes along as
a sort of a once in a however frequently phenomenon
takes all these dejected people and pours gasoline on the imbers.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
And whips these people up right.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
And because Donald Trump also comes to the office with
a degree of celebrity, and we're in a celebrity obsessed culture,
donald Trump gets to benefit from that. And because Donald
Trump is an unconventional politician, a lot of people will
excuse his behavior before he made it into office. And
since he's been in the office, and because these people
(48:38):
feel desperate, they're willing to throw out the constitution. Desperate
times call for desperate measures. This is sort of their thinking.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
And the.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
Donald Trump exists in a way that JD Vance could
not exist. The Maga movement exists in a way that
the Republican Party could not exist.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
This is my belief. And so.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
Donald Trump and the Maga movement that you know he's
at the helm of, is a juggernaut that Kamala Harris
could not overcome not in one hundred and seven days
or however long it was not at all. She needed
a much longer runway. We needed a robust primary so
that people felt like liberal voters felt like she was
(49:27):
the choice that they picked, not the choice that Biden picked.
Speaker 2 (49:29):
You know, all of these things factor into it.
Speaker 3 (49:31):
Now.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
We can keep examining the past over and over again,
but I don't want black women to feel as though
there is not a future, an immediate future, where they
are not worthy of pursuing the highest office in the land,
(49:52):
because this country is not ready for them. I think
more in terms of Donald Trump is a juggernaut that
surprised everyone twice. And he went into those nooks and
crannies and valleys and got all those people that wouldn't
have voted. There were historically Democrats or folks that were
(50:12):
just tired of the Republican Party. He went to those
places and got those people not only willing to vote,
but excited so that they went and got other people
to vote. And they were all white, and they were
dusty footed, and they were overlooked by the Democrats. And
that's everything that I've seen, Everything that I've discussed. Everything
(50:33):
that I know tells me that that's the reality of
our circumstances. So don't lose hope. Black women, don't drop
out of the fight. Black women, we got you. We
can get there. And nobody lives forever, certainly not elderly,
overweight orange people, So it doesn't last forever. With that
(50:58):
in mind, we're going to leave it right there always.
I'd like to thank you both very much for your
time and your insight.
Speaker 2 (51:02):
Once again.
Speaker 1 (51:02):
Today's guest in news anchors Terry McCready and Kevin Brown.
This has been a production of the bi In. Today's
show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd
like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature on
the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to hit
subscribe and download all of our episodes. I'm your host
Ramsey's job on all social media, and I'll be hosting
(51:23):
another episode of Civic Cipher this weekend on a station
near you. For stations, showtimes, and podcast info, check Civiccipher
dot com and join us Monday as we share our
news with our voice from our perspective right here on
the QR code
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the bin.
Today we are joined by bi in news anchors Terry
McCready and Kevin Brown to discuss this week's major stories.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
This is the QR Code and.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm your host, ramses Jah. All right, Terry and Kevin,
welcome back to the show. Terry, Chris tells me you've
been up to to some good. What's the latest and
greatest in your world?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, you know it, Chris just mentioned, you know, welcome back.
It felt wonderful to be in Saint Bart's. What an
amazing place. I had the time of my life.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yes, and right now I just want to say the
least no chevna weyna, which is Merry Christmas eve Eve.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
You may okay, okay?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
And Kevin, hopefully you haven't been up to no good.
What's the latest in your world?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Oh no, every day is a good day. Getting ready
for the holidays. And of course Terry promised you'd bring
something special back, and so I'm looking forward to a
very special holiday.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I see what you did there. I love that. All right, Well,
let's get to the news first.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
Up twenty twenty five saw the largest increase in unemployment
for black women in decades. Fortunately, a few courageous black
leaders recently used their voices and positions of power to
bring much needed attention to this crisis. Terry, let's get
today's show started with you tell us more about our
first story, and then Kevin, we'll get your thoughts next.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Okay, So the snapshot is black representatives I'm know Presley
and Yvette Clark, who also happens to be the chairwoman
of the Congressional Black Caucus, and they are together pushing
for the Federal Reserve Board's immediate action on this crisis.
And that is exactly what we're seeing. It's about an
eight and a half percent unemployment rate among Black Americans,
(01:50):
and of course they're blaming it on Trump's policies. So
lawmakers and advocates are sort of galvanizing efforts they want
to hone in on solutions. It's all unfurling in a
very very big way, and it's taking place as the president.
Actually it's perpendicular to the President hopscotching the country pitching
(02:11):
his positive economic outlook. And once again, it's a warshock
test when it comes to the plight of American purse rings.
There are major distortions happening on the subject of affordability.
Since Trump entered his second term, the black unemployment number
has been ascending, and it's been happening at an alarming clip.
(02:31):
Some of it is sort of, you know, the federal workforce,
because of the federal workforce purge and annihilation of DEDI
and Presley says the Fed can recalibrate the trajectory by
underscoring a fair economy in response to the administration's reckless policies.
And by the way, I just took a look at
a gallop pole this morning showing that overall, sixty eight
(02:55):
percent of respondents say economic conditions for them at least
are worsening.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Kevin, Yes, this is a surgic It's been surgically applied
from Project twenty twenty five. There is no coincidence that,
in addition to the DOGE cuts, the Elon Musk under
(03:23):
the guise of making government more efficient, that they have
targeted their opponents, democrats, and the foundation of black culture
by attacking government jobs and then as not only attacking
(03:46):
government jobs and government black institutions, but also hindering the
government's ability to project or report accurately on what's happening
the consequences of those layoffs. The unemployment rate is just
(04:10):
the tip of the iceberg. In Virginia and in Maryland,
the number of just in the first just in twenty
twenty five as a result of the targeted government cuts
and in and around DC, in Virginia and in Maryland,
(04:30):
black people are disproportionately represented as government employees. That the
not only is the unemployment rate up, but the number
of homes for sale have increased by at least twenty
five percent. So not only are Republicans treating the American
(04:59):
public like mushrooms, keep you in the dark and feed
you garbage, they're distorting the information that's coming out, and
they are surgically targeting black people.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting and funny that you mentioned
Project twenty twenty five because the intersection of Project twenty
twenty five, which is, you know, basically a playbook, and
the overall premise and intention of Trump and his administration
(05:51):
to make America great again. You know, when you look
at that facet of it, you have to consider when
was America great? And since we're talking about black unemployment.
(06:13):
You harken back to a time when there was full
white employment, and this happened sometime in between the late thirties,
and it lasted mostly through the seventies, or at least
until the seventies.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And prior to this.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Chapter in American history, there was a concerted effort, there
was a movement, an organized push for full white employment,
white male employment in this country. You're not going to
hire anybody Black, You're not going to hire anybody Mexican,
(06:59):
none of that stuff, unless white men are employed at
one hundred percent. Right now, that's kind of crazy, because
you know, employment a lot in a lot of places
depends on proximity and skills and that sort of thing.
But the sentiment was widely shared. You know, you can
(07:23):
go back and look it up if you want to
confirm all of this. But yeah, there was virtually. I mean,
there's no such thing as one hundred percent employment under capitalism.
Capitalism needs people to be unemployed in order for capitalism
to work, in order for wages to be low enough
to make a capitalistic machine run. But yeah, virtually one
(07:47):
hundred percent white men employed in the United States of
America between nineteen call it nineteen forty and nineteen seventy.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So again, Making America Great Again.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Perhaps looks back to that chapter insofar as their economic policy,
insofar as their civil rights strategy, right, and Project twenty
twenty five, of course, is the playbook how do we
get there? And so I think you're more right than
(08:21):
you know, Kevin, because this being a targeted and strategic
attack on black Americans, it.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Bears out in the data. This is the result of that.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And given the premise and the push and the agenda
of Trump's movement that make America Great Again movement, and
given the fact that Project twenty twenty five is I know,
it's over half completed, that is the natural and logical conclusion.
I think that anybody that tries to fute that is
(09:01):
ignoring the reality of the situation. Yeah, there are convenient
ways of explaining why this administration is doing what it's doing. Oh,
we want everyone to be treated equal, really, because when
you look at the outcomes, not everyone is being treated equal.
When you look at the unemployment rate, it's not affecting
(09:21):
everyone equally, right, but those that's a convenient thing to say,
so that the people that are helping support a racist agenda.
Don't have to feel as though they're supporting a racist agenda,
right they can feel like, oh, no, equality for everyone.
And you know, I know and talk to people like
this all the time, and when I break it down
(09:42):
for them, they're like, oh my god, this is absolutely correct.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
So it's unfortunate. But I think knowing is half the battle.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I mean, I don't think that we're going to teach
black women anything in this moment. Black women knew this
would happen. Black women obviously showed up at the polls
and voted so that this wouldn't happen. This is on
the shoulders of the rest of us, I say us,
because although black men voted for a more progressive agenda
that included black women and their financial and civil destinies,
(10:19):
there was too many black men that voted in lockstep
with this Make America Great Again Project twenty twenty five movement.
And so I would offer to the conversation that we
black men also have some growing to do here. But
(10:40):
I think John Hope Bryant puts it best is that
this country could not and would not survive at present
simply on the backs of white men. They don't have
the skill set they don't have that they're not enough
of them in the workforce. And there are this part,
(11:00):
I'll add, there are a lot of blind spots when
it comes to white men trying to operate on a
global level. White men just lacked the perspective. Any singular
group woul lack the perspective of an entire planet. And
so this is one of those things where you know,
we might see a little bit of bump for them
(11:21):
in the short run, and you know, America loses its
footing as the the financial hub and the powerhouse of
the planet in the long run. And again, John Hopebrien
makes that argument a lot better than I could, But
I certainly believe that he's another person that is going
to give you a data driven argument for his position,
(11:43):
not vibes or feelings. So so yeah, moving on. Our
next story starts with the following quote from EEOC chair
Andrea Lucas and reads s follows quote. If you're a
white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on
your race or sex, you may have a claim to
recover money under federal civil rights laws. Unquote, Kevin, there's
(12:06):
a big story here to discuss, So let's start with
you give us more details on this story, and then
Terry will get your thoughts next.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
This is a strategy to convince white men that they're
victims when they are ninety percent of over ninety percent
of Congress, the Supreme Court, business owners. But the narrative
that the Republicans want to use in order to maintain
(12:39):
power is to convince white people that they are victims,
which brings me to that famous Lyndon former President Lyndon
Johnson quote, if you can convince the lowest white man
he's better than the best colored man. He won't notice
(12:59):
you picking his pocket. Give him someone to look down on,
and he'll empty his pockets for you. One of the
most incredible images of this fourth quarter as a result
(13:20):
of the Trump policies is that states Red states who
voted for this economic vision of the president, many of
those states have of lines for food, free food as
businesses are because of tariffs and policies of the Trump administration.
(13:46):
A lot of the states Red states are suffering, and
those very same individuals who voted for this direction for
the economy are so. However, you won't hear the administration,
or for that matter, mass media, address the truth of
(14:13):
the situation. They'll continue to say that everything is okay,
which is one of the reasons that one of the
first things the president and the administration did was to
intimidate media outlets, newspapers, and television so that they would
not report the absolute truth. I have yet to see
(14:37):
any of the networks report on the food lines in
red States. You'll see it online from independent media, but
you won't see it reflected in mass in traditional media.
So it is one of the tools that the am illustration.
(15:00):
Once again hate to keep harping on this project twenty
twenty five, but this is a targeted strategy. Unfortunately, when
we talk about black unemployment, it is fascinating that a
(15:21):
president who has it was married to an immigrant, a
vice president who is similarly situated, manage to convince Americans
that immigrants are the problem, hence ice raids all around
the country. It is a strategy that is short term,
(15:48):
promotes great visual images for the magabase, but the reality
is in the numbers and what the economy is doing.
Be a turnaround because the people who voted for this
did not vote for this. They thought they were getting
other people and targeting other people. It is a fascinating
(16:13):
approach to what the overall goal is is to keep
rich people rich and poor people poor.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Kerry.
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Yeah, So indeed, this is breathtaking. This issue takes manufactured
victimization to new and even lofty heights in its absurdity,
especially with the Vice President saying over the weekend at
a Turning Point USA event, he said, you no longer
have to apologize for being white. So that's a thing now, right,
(16:49):
And now with the EEOC chair saying that, you know,
it's a big tent and they're looking to, you know,
eliminate discrimination of everyone of every stripe. It feels contrived
and it's an almost inverted reverse DEI dynamic no white
man left behind trope. And it is not at all
(17:11):
surprising with this EEOC being a thoroughly utilitarian component for
the Trump administration, which is right now running itself into
a knackered fever to unravel decades in place of legislation
that actually address very real racial inequality.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Yeah, I think you're both right. This administration, you know,
as I mentioned, this administration has preyed upon white men
(17:52):
and stoked their fears and whipped up their anger. White
men believed in the promise of the American dream, perhaps
to the degree that they were vulnerable at this point.
(18:16):
The rest of us who are not white men, kind
of hoped for it. But I think if we're painting
with broad strokes, white men believed in it. I thought
they were going to grow up and be rock stars
and rocket scientists and NFL players and CEOs and millionaires
and whatever. And billionaires have stolen the American dream from
(18:48):
all of us, But white men were the ones who
felt the most entitled to that.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
They had no reason not to.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Assume that if they worked hard, they would end up rich,
with a beautiful wife and a perfect family and all
that sort of stuff, right, that American dream. And when
you get to, you know, your thirties, and things haven't
(19:22):
quite panned out in your forties, and you're looking around
and you need somebody to blame because obviously you did
what you were told.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Where's this American dream?
Speaker 1 (19:34):
When you hear folks from the left say white privilege,
then you look at them like, yo, that sounds crazy.
I wish I had some white privilege. And they think
that privilege is like a bonus check or something like,
because it sounds like that, And what we have meant
is that the privilege is getting to start at the
(19:55):
starting line, getting to start at zero, not starting by
behind the starting line. So they think, hey, running this
race is hard. We all have to run the same race.
And we know running the race is hard, but we
have to run an even harder race with even more hurdles.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Right. And so when someone comes along as I as
I mentioned.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
And says, you know, we're going to make America great again,
the again refers to the time in this country's history
when there was as near as it makes no difference,
full white male employment between nineteen forty and nineteen seventy,
when you could have a job and just have a
job and become rich working at that job. If you
(20:41):
had some ambition, you could do even more than that. Right,
And so this new ruling class step sin the Maga
movement and they say, hey, immigrants have taken the American
dream from you.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
They poison the blood of America.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
And you know, all these black people fighting for civil rights,
you know, to a white male, it looks like, hey,
you guys have the same rights as I do. Because
who gets into the weeds, who looks at the data?
They're just looking at Lebron James he's a billionaire. They're
looking at Michael Jordan and Oprah and Obama. Why don't
all you black people just do what they did?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Right?
Speaker 1 (21:22):
They don't look at those people like, oh, these are anomalies.
These are people who are lucky, these are people born
with extraordinary gifts. They're not looking at the data saying, hey,
data tends to favor these outcomes for these people. Now,
Cassim Rashid, who's been a guest on the show, put
up a post recently. I think that explains this data
(21:43):
a little bit better, and I think that it illustrates
what a lot of white men have been missing and
points out why a lot of white men have been
susceptible to this racist rhetoric from this administration and from
you know, far right movements, Nazism and white supremacy and
KKK stuff and all that. So Cassim says, in the
(22:07):
United States of America, you don't have to be you
don't have to apologize for being white anymore. That's a
quote from the lady we were talking about earlier.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
And then he says, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
The crowd rars, So he adds this, Historically, white men
are ninety eight percent of the presidents, ninety eight percent
of the Senate, ninety four percent of Supreme Court justices,
ninety one percent of the House of Representatives, ninety percent
(22:40):
of CEOs. This is white men ninety percent of CEOs historically,
and historically white men are thirty percent of the population.
So they're overrepresented in all of these areas of influence
where they get to shape society. This isn't talking about
how white men are overrepresented in police forces. This doesn't
talk mayors, This doesn't talk about upper management in your business. Right,
(23:06):
So I'll finish his tweet here or his post. It says,
imagine the fragility of using genocide and slavery to control
one hundred percent of the US government and economy for
two hundred plus years, but claiming victimhood because now you
only control ninety five percent. And so this is the
conversation that we're having where now these white men are
(23:29):
feeling like victims, and now they have a mechanism to
air out their grievances. Oh, at my job, I was
discriminated against. There was a black woman hired over me
because she was black. You know, she was equally competent
at minimum, she was equally competent. But again, that sense
(23:51):
of entitlement to the American dream was right for co
option if you will, from or co opting. Maybe that's
how I say that from this administration. And so we
end up here, and this administration is delivering on their
(24:11):
promise to white men at the expense of everyone else.
Brown people. Oh, the brown people, legal or illegal. I
have been suffering under this administration. That discrimination has spiked
black people. We just talked about black unemployment higher than
it was during COVID when nobody had jobs. And white
(24:34):
men are feeling like, yeah, we got our guy in
the office. It's our turn. And so for those of
us to look at that like, oh, you have voted
for racism because you harbor racist sentiments, you know, I
think there's a valid argument to be made there. And
for the white men who say there's not a racist
bone in my body, it shows that they're blinded to
(24:55):
the reality of these circumstances that they're being used to
enrich the billionaire class. Even further, so's to a sad
state that we're in.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Hey, what's up.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
This is Rams's Jah and I am q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher, our weekly
social justice podcast right here in the app.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that busters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research,
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Speaker 5 (25:27):
The African proverb breeds, if you want to go far,
go together. So we are asking you to search for
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Speaker 2 (25:34):
That's civiic cip h e er right here in the app.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Bi In News anchors Terry McCready and Kevin Brown are
here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
Next up, rap star Nicki Minaj has millions of fans,
but her recent political affiliations have left many folks confused
and concerned about the true motive behind her actions. Terry,
let's hear more about this story from you first, and
then Kevin, we'll get your thought next.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
So Nicki MINAJE, guess who's coming to dinner? And my
first thought was Gloria Gaynor earned which I guess now
it's the Trump Kennedy Center Honors. She was acknowledged this year.
Obviously it was well deserved. Who does not love Gloria Gaynor.
So maybe next year Minage will have her turn, because
(26:21):
being a sycophant to this administration has proven expedient more
often than we can even ever begin to calculate. And
for her part, Nicki held Governor Gavin Newsom California to
formidable scrutiny, but praise President Trump for his quixotic and
dashing demeanor. We're talking about the same President Trump. Apparently
(26:44):
the glue sealing the Minage Maga kinship is Christianity, so
particularly we're talking about Christian persecution in Nigeria. That was
kind of her baby, that she really decided that she
was just pressed by this administration's actions. But then she
took a pivot and she took a jab at Newsom, saying,
(27:08):
imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids,
which was completely bizarre. And if ever there was a
thought that required a little more nuance, that had to
be the one. Oh by the way, Nikki also called
Vice President Van's a role model.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
That's all I've got. End of story.
Speaker 4 (27:28):
Kevin Well, as the Nicki Minaj fan on the panel today,
I was before we started, I was listening to anaconda
bees in a trap and did it on them during
(27:49):
my morning workout, and who could forget super Freak Girl
the classics from Nicki minaje. It's always interesting when people
who are in entertainment when they they're out of their
(28:10):
lane into politics because they're ill informed and they are
basically being used and exploited by people with money. While
Nicki was holding up the Republican flag and the flag
for Charlie Kirk's wife, Erica, turning point USA, the Internet
(28:36):
is undefeated because they also provided quotes from Charlie about Nicki. Quote.
She's a bad role model, is what Charlie Kirk said
about Nicki Minaj's close quote. So this is just an
example of Hey, Nikki, do you want to make some money?
(29:00):
We'll give you this if you get on stage and
say that. Out of all the people who are qualified
to express views on these situations, Nicki Minaj is not
high on the list. And as a result of not
staying in her lane, she was exposed to her fans
(29:23):
as not being, as Kendrick said, not like us.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Yeah, yeah, we got a chance to talk about this
earlier in the week. You and I spoke on this
and I don't want to add something to you know,
what I said earlier in the week.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
I stand by what I said earlier in the week, but.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
I'm not really into celebrity pop culture tabloid gossip stuff.
Speaker 2 (30:05):
Anymore.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
When I was doing like hip hop radio, I had
to be all over that stuff. But you know, internet
beats between rappers is kind of not my thing these days.
But I do have a vague recollection of there being
some back and forth recently about Nicki Minaj and Cardi
B and I, if I remember correctly, Nicki Minaj got
(30:31):
the worst of that by a long way. Cardi and
fifty Cent are two people that I don't think anybody
wants to play with on the internet because they are ruthless.
Speaker 4 (30:46):
And.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Nicki Minaj is married to.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
I believe a sex offender is like a registered sex
offend or something like that. And I'm not sure I've
heard it said, but I don't want to lean into this,
but just so that you understand how I kind of
arrived at this additional thought, someone suggested to me that
(31:12):
she might have been cozying up to Trump to get
a part in either for him or maybe someone else
in her world.
Speaker 2 (31:17):
That you know, whatever the case is. But I think
the thrust of.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Nicky's departure from I think what the three of us
would refer to a sanity, but you know, from let's
call it politics as usual. I think that that is
based on a human condition, something that we all share. Now,
(31:49):
I don't want to suggest, by any stretch of the imagination,
that I believe that black people are incapable of leaning conservative.
I know that to be false. You know, there are
black people that have conservative views and they feel justified
in those conservative views. I don't know that Nicki Minaj
(32:13):
is one of those people. I think that Nicki Minaj
finds herself on a turning point USA stage because human
beings have a need for a community. If you get rejected,
if you feel embarrassed, if you feel not welcomed in
(32:34):
a community, then you will seek a community that will
embrace you. This is part of a conversation that Q
and I have been having for a long time about
forgiving people that make mistakes. You know, people that have
resurfaced videos that have them saying or doing something that
(32:56):
we as black people don't like. You know, everybody should
be able to be forgiven at least one time. There
are people that would argue that they should only be
forgiven at most one time, but you know, at least
one time if people come to the table and they
seem remorseful and so forth, forgiving them and welcoming them
(33:20):
back into the family, if you will, fortifies our numbers,
prevents the opposition numbers from being fortified, because if we
don't embrace them, then they will defect and go find
a community that.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Will accept them.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Right, And I think that it's more consistent with you know,
who we are as people. And I think Nicki found herself.
And again I'm adding this to all the other reasons
why she might be doing this, but I think that
this might be another reason why Niki finds herself on
(33:59):
that turning point USA stage supporting a person that would
never support her, didn't think highly of her at all,
And is there talking about how the president is attractive
and whatever, you know, all that sort of stuff that
we know is just that's just not how she feels, right,
Nicki is a person that feels rejected by hip hop
(34:27):
because Cardi B Has effectively stepped into her place as
the queen of you know, hip hop music, and then
with her and Cardi b at odds and her getting
the worst of that, she feels further displaced from her
(34:47):
what she might feel is her rightful seat, and so
doing whatever she can do to get attention, to get headlines,
to get community. I feel like that might be the
path that she's on right now, seeking validate. She can
have all the money in the world and all the whatever,
but validation goes a long way. And then, of course,
what I said earlier in the week, her proximity to whiteness,
(35:08):
that's not something that goes away just because you get
a lot of money. And you know, all the other
things that I said, you know, they're well stated. I
don't need to repeat them here, but you know, it's
a it's a convergence, and we can definitely see something
like this. But I if Nicki Minaj was a conservative
leaning person, I think that we would have found that
out a long time ago.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
You know.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
Uh. One of the biggest storylines from last year's presidential
election is the discussion about our country's willingness to elect
a female president. On a recent episode of his new
podcast entitled Straight Shooter, sports host Stephen A. Smith debated
this topic with Congressman James Clyburn, and the discussion got
quite fiery at times. Kevin, for today's final story, tell
(35:53):
us more about the points made during their conversation, and
then Terry will get your thoughts next.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
Yes, about somebody who straight out of their lane and
is struggling to maintain some credibility. Stephen A. Smith, attempting
to broaden his platform and appeal after signing a large
contract with the ESPN, thinks one of the best ways
(36:22):
to appeal to a broader audience is to this was
excuse me. This was a stunning strategy in terms of
trying to broaden his appeal by confronting Jim Clyburn from
South Carolina, who on politics and Stephen A. Smith is
(36:53):
ill equipped to discuss the issues of the day with
someone the likes of Jim Clyburn, who has lived through
many many of the issues that are affecting and has
first hand knowledge. Stephen A. Stands on the shoulders of
(37:16):
people like Jim Clydeburn for his access to the success
he owes Jim Clydeburn as opposed to confronting him about
politics and who is and the best way to move forward,
(37:37):
Stephen A. Smith should be quiet and listen to the
stories of a young man who lived through Jim Crow
in South Carolina. One of the more disturbing parts of
their conversation was Stephen A. As Reverend a Bishop Toutu
(38:07):
of South Africa went fighting apart. Time said, when you
remain neutral, you are siding with the oppressor. And to
hear Stephen A. Smith, who is an affirmative action baby,
(38:29):
all that he has, Stephen A. Smith is because of
the likes of people. The generation that Jim Clyburn represents
gave Stephen A. Smith access to all he owns today.
And to suggest the Representative Clyburn that both parties are
(38:57):
the wings of the same bird is disingenuous times one hundred.
I wish Representative Clydeburn would just show Stephen A. Smith
as he is defending and trying to water down the
intentional disin the intentional targeted attacks towards Black Americans. A
(39:33):
picture of the interns at the White House, a huge crowd,
maybe thirty forty interns, maybe even more than that, fifty
huge picture, not one person of color. That is what
Stephen A. Smith is spitting on everything that the civil
(40:04):
rights movement has tried to incorporate into this society. Stephen A.
Smith is spitting on that and saying, oh, it's rain,
It's not that bad. Oh, the Democrats are just as
bad as the Republicans. When one side is trying to
(40:26):
eliminate voting rights and one side is trying to make
it easier for everyone to vote, it was shameful and
embarrassing for stephen A. Smith.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Terry. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
So during this conversation, Smith argued that Kalala Harris's gender
had no impact on her loss to Trump. And so
I liked the fact that Clyburne did not miss abeat
calling Smith out as a man who, you know, basically
and correctly is a heat seeking missile out to disparage
(41:02):
black women on the daily and he's done this quite
a bit with Jasmine Crockett and Smith dug in his
heels blaming this seismic shift within the Democratic Party which
is just too far left enter Kamala Harris. Cliburne suggested
the party was hobbled by gender in the end. You know,
(41:23):
I think that's really a fair assessment. Smith seems to
be convinced that the country is ready for a madam president,
but it just has to be the right person, and
then for good measure, that's when he threw in Hillary
Clinton back in twenty sixteen versus Trump. She received almost
three million more of the popular vote than Trump. He
(41:44):
talked about one of the nation's most successful House speakers
in Nancy Pelosi, and of course the two female Democratic
governors elect one in New Jersey, one in Virginia. And
then I thought, hm, who would they enjoy seeing when
it comes to female possibilities, and if they try to
make a statement with a woman of color, not Nikki Haley.
(42:06):
I could see them all sort of coalescing behind a
Condulize Rice. But then I remember that, Okay, she's already
in her early seventies and she isn't married, because apparently
that's the law. You have to be married if you
want to tee up some sort of a campaign strategy
to be president. But I do see them talking a
lot about Conduliza Rice. They love her, they think she's wonderful,
(42:29):
and somebody like that I think probably would have a chance,
not for Democrats, but someone who I could see the
Republicans really pushing forward.
Speaker 2 (42:43):
This one is.
Speaker 1 (42:47):
I mean, longtime listeners know how I feel about this one.
This one's going to sound a little bit weird, though
for people just coming to this conversation.
Speaker 2 (42:57):
I'm not too mad at stephen A.
Speaker 1 (43:02):
Smith here. I've made the argument myself that this country
has this country can elect a black woman black because
this country has indeed elected Barack Obama and woman because
(43:26):
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. That's an argument that
I've made on the show. I made this argument so
that black women would continue to be encouraged and continue
to seek elected office and to help shape this country.
I do recognize that the combination black woman is something
(43:49):
a little a little different, but I don't think that
this is an impossible hill to climb. I think it
would be too much to ask a black woman to
do it, because black women have done enough. But if
a black woman feels capable and willing to pursue that,
(44:11):
I think that, yes, there's there's a future where a
black woman is the president of the United States, and
it's in the near for you, within our lifetime. I
don't I don't see why that's not a possibility. So
if indeed that's what Stephen A. Smith was trying to say,
I'm in agreement with him. I think of Donald Trump
(44:35):
as a sort of a unique phenomenon. You take dejected,
demoralized Republicans after the Obama years, you know what I mean,
(44:58):
they suffered too, not just to Democratic losses, but you know,
they did have to live in the United States where
a black man was the president. And so for the
part of that party that would never vote for a
(45:19):
black man regardless, because they just don't see that as
the sort of country in which they want to live,
that was particularly troubling, right, And I'm not for a
moment excusing, you know, or ignoring that reality. There's just
some people that will never vote for someone black. Racism is,
(45:41):
you know, it exists in this country to exists in
other countries.
Speaker 2 (45:44):
I get that.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
But if I'm not going to have a racism argument,
like a Stephen A. Smith probably doesn't want to have
a racism argument, I got to look at things beyond
that now.
Speaker 2 (45:56):
I want to be very clear.
Speaker 1 (45:57):
I do realize that race plays a big part in
this country, always has But we can have the argument
either way, and I think we still come out with
the same you know, reality. You have a group of
people that feel financially worse off, a group of people
(46:22):
that feel that they are losing grounds in a country
that they feel entitled to. It might be in the
front of their mind, it might be in the back
of their mind. But you know on the right is
where these there's there's fertile ground for these seeds of
like eugenics and you know the great replacement theory and
(46:45):
you know Jewish space lasers, and you know, a massive
influx invasion at the southern border and all that sort
of stuff, right.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Because of the reality.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
The reality is that that white people as a percentage
are making up less and less of this country. And
you know, in another ten to twenty years, white people
will be a they will be the biggest minority group,
they will be less than fifty percent of the population,
meaning that white people will be less likely to be
(47:21):
able to shape the outcomes of white people exclusively.
Speaker 4 (47:25):
Right.
Speaker 1 (47:26):
And for white people that don't look at that as racism,
they just look at that as well, this is a
white country, that's.
Speaker 2 (47:32):
How it should be.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
That's racism, by the way, But for them that just
look at it like that's the way it should be.
The Obama years were very scary because you take the
Obama years coupled with the fact that you know, the
census says that, hey, you guys are losing ground in
terms of the composition of the population. Then they start
getting into conspiracies, you know, the Jews are replacing us
(47:54):
and all that weird stuff. Donald Trump comes along as
a sort of a once in a however frequently phenomenon
takes all these dejected people and pours gasoline on the imbers.
Speaker 2 (48:12):
And whips these people up right.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
And because Donald Trump also comes to the office with
a degree of celebrity, and we're in a celebrity obsessed culture,
donald Trump gets to benefit from that. And because Donald
Trump is an unconventional politician, a lot of people will
excuse his behavior before he made it into office. And
since he's been in the office, and because these people
(48:38):
feel desperate, they're willing to throw out the constitution. Desperate
times call for desperate measures. This is sort of their thinking.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
And the.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
Donald Trump exists in a way that JD Vance could
not exist. The Maga movement exists in a way that
the Republican Party could not exist.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
This is my belief. And so.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
Donald Trump and the Maga movement that you know he's
at the helm of, is a juggernaut that Kamala Harris
could not overcome not in one hundred and seven days
or however long it was not at all. She needed
a much longer runway. We needed a robust primary so
that people felt like liberal voters felt like she was
(49:27):
the choice that they picked, not the choice that Biden picked.
Speaker 2 (49:29):
You know, all of these things factor into it.
Speaker 3 (49:31):
Now.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
We can keep examining the past over and over again,
but I don't want black women to feel as though
there is not a future, an immediate future, where they
are not worthy of pursuing the highest office in the land,
(49:52):
because this country is not ready for them. I think
more in terms of Donald Trump is a juggernaut that
surprised everyone twice. And he went into those nooks and
crannies and valleys and got all those people that wouldn't
have voted. There were historically Democrats or folks that were
(50:12):
just tired of the Republican Party. He went to those
places and got those people not only willing to vote,
but excited so that they went and got other people
to vote. And they were all white, and they were
dusty footed, and they were overlooked by the Democrats. And
that's everything that I've seen, Everything that I've discussed. Everything
(50:33):
that I know tells me that that's the reality of
our circumstances. So don't lose hope. Black women, don't drop
out of the fight. Black women, we got you. We
can get there. And nobody lives forever, certainly not elderly,
overweight orange people, So it doesn't last forever. With that
(50:58):
in mind, we're going to leave it right there always.
I'd like to thank you both very much for your
time and your insight.
Speaker 2 (51:02):
Once again.
Speaker 1 (51:02):
Today's guest in news anchors Terry McCready and Kevin Brown.
This has been a production of the bi In. Today's
show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd
like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature on
the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to hit
subscribe and download all of our episodes. I'm your host
Ramsey's job on all social media, and I'll be hosting
(51:23):
another episode of Civic Cipher this weekend on a station
near you. For stations, showtimes, and podcast info, check Civiccipher
dot com and join us Monday as we share our
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