Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday quickly shot down the notion that race relations have worsened under President Trump.
During an interview on NBC’s “Today” show, Ms. Rice slammed the hyperbole surrounding the current president after reporter Sheinelle Jones said some people feel like race relations are “worse now.”
WATCH: Condoleezza Rice shuts down NBC reporter Sheinelle Jones’ claim that race relations are worse under President Trump. pic.twitter.com/HhuhcUlfgN
— NewsBusters (@newsbusters) June 21, 2019
“It sure doesn’t feel worse than when I grew up in Jim Crow Alabama. OK?” Ms. Rice fired back. “So let’s drop this notion that we’re worse race relations today than we were in the past. Really? That means we’ve made no progress. Really?
“I think the hyperbole about how much worse it is isn’t doing us any good,” she continued. “This country’s never going to be colorblind. We had the initial original sin of slavery. It’s still with us.”
Ms. Jones said that some people argue, “It’s top-down, it starts with the president” and “the words that he speaks.”
“Oh, come on, all right?” Ms. Rice responded. “I would be the first to say we need to watch our language about race. We need to watch that we don’t use dog whistles to people, but when we start saying, ‘Oh, you know, it’s worse today,’ no, they’re not.”
Ms. Rice, who served as secretary of state under former President George W. Bush, now teaches global business at Stanford University.
By Jessica Chasmar– The Washington Times – Friday, June 21, 2019
