CBS reporter Major Garrett said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s overall record with minorities was one that any third-year president “would want to claim.”
Garrett was part of a panel discussion on CBS’ “Face the Nation” addressing some of the most under-reported stories of the year, and he counted among them the major inroads the Trump administration had made in promoting an agenda that was good especially for the black community. (RELATED: CBS WH Reporter Major Garrett Says Obama Admin. Used To ‘Demonize’ Him When He Worked For Fox News)
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Garrett began by saying that, while he had a problem with the president’s rhetoric, it didn’t always match up with what he was doing — particularly when it came to his relationship with minorities.
“Sometimes under-covered stories are complicated,” Garrett said of that relationship. “This one falls resolutely in that category.”
“His rhetoric is unacceptable,” Garrett continued, invoking the president’s oft-misquoted comments regarding unrest several years ago in Charlottesville. “Charlottesville is what people hear and think about when they think about the president and people of color, and yet it can be fairly said that this administration, because of President Trump’s quiet prodding, has done quite a bit for funding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the First Step Act, which was massive first step toward criminal justice reform.”
Garrett cited several other steps taken by the administration toward criminal justice reform and noted that the Opportunity Zones created in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefited communities of color as well.
“That is a legacy on the agenda side that almost any president after three years would want to claim, particularly President Obama,” Garrett concluded. “Many of those things were sought, but you know what, Republicans would not go for it. Quietly, persistently, President Trump has pushed Republicans in this direction and I think that’s an under-covered story.”