Jesse Jackson

Did Trump post something tasteful?

Jesse Jackson, the most influential Black figure between Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama, died today at 84. He ran twice for president in the Democratic primaries, getting the closest to the nomination in 1988, where his slogan was “Keep hope alive. He was a gifted orator. I remember hearing white conservatives in 1988, after his convention speech, say that they could kind of sort of understand the appeal.

If it weren't for Jesse Jackson, we may not have had Barack Obama. This nation owes a debt of gratitude to Jesse Jackson, even if most of it doesn't know that.

President Obama said in a statement that he and Michelle were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Jackson. For six decades, they said, Jackson helped to lead some of the most important movements in history. “From organizing boycotts and sit-ins, to registering millions of voters, to advocating for freedom and democracy around the world, he was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God, deserving dignity and respect.”

They added: “We stood on his shoulders.”

Donald Trump stood on the shoulders of segregationists like George Wallace, Strom Thurman, and another Jesse, Jesse Helms. We are in the midst of Black History Month, and to celebrate it, Donald Trump posted a video last week of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

At first, the White House defended the video. But they eventually realized it was racist when other Republicans told them it was racist, like Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate. Then, the video was taken down despite being up for over 12 hours, and was blamed on an unnamed staffer who apparently had access to the president's social media account around midnight.

My cartoon is satire, but it's not far off from what Donald Trump did post in tribute to Jackson, which turned out not to be much of a tribute at all.

Trump posted, “The Reverend Jesse Jackson is Dead at 84. I knew him well, long before becoming President. He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’ He was very gregarious - Someone who truly loved people!” Hey, that's not too bad. In fact, that part is so good that I believe it actually was written by a staffer. When have you ever heard of Donald Trump use “gregarious” in a sentence?

Was Trump smart enough to stop there? Of course, he wasn't. He continued.

“Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a Racist by the Scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left, Democrats ALL, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way.” There he goes making it about himself.

“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him. He had much to do with the Election, without acknowledgment or credit, of Barack Hussein Obama, a man who Jesse could not stand. He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”

This is kinda like when he takes what should be a gimme, politicizes it, and turns it into a dark attack, like wishing a Merry Christmas, “even to all the losers.” It's like the guy can't walk 7 feet without taking a shit. I'm speaking metaphorically, but it's probably literally true as well.

It is true that Jackson and President Obama had a contentious relationship, and Jackson once accused Obama of "acting like he's white, "and was once caught on a hot mic saying, “I want to cut his nuts off.”

A lot of people believe, and maybe only white people believe this, that Jesse Jackson would have only been president for black America, kinda like Donald Trump is only president today for racist America. Whether that's true or not, what is true is that Barack Obama was president for all of America.

But Jackson did endorse Obama in 2008 and even cried when he became the first black man elected president, and he wasn't crying for the same reasons Donald Trump and future MAGAts were crying.

Jesse Jackson fought for equal rights and civil rights. He fought to advance this nation. I'm sorry that when he died, it was at a time when this nation is going backwards despite all his work. For that, you can thank Donald Trump.

I know that when Donald Trump was installed into the White House, and later reinstalled, a lot of people cried, and it wasn't out of happiness.

Last night: in yesterday's blog, I told you I was going to an Advance event at a coffee shop downtown. I took a shower, got dressed, and was ready to call an Uber, but then I noticed bobsledding on TV, and I got distracted. I never made it downtown, and I had a salad for dinner.

I can't believe the Germans took the top three spots in that event.

Breakfast: I usually make a healthy breakfast, which usually consists of scrambled eggs, a slice of wheat toast, and a cup of yogurt with blueberries. But there are mornings when I just don't really have the energy to cook, so I will have a bowl of cereal. My cereal is generic brand flakes from Walmart with blueberries, but today I added some strawberries. It was a great addition.

I have a routine when I wake up. First, I take my blood pressure, I might check a couple of emails, and make sure my cartoon uploaded correctly to GoComics before I move on to my next step, which is taking my meds, which is five pills. Then I check my glucose. Then, I start making coffee, mix the eggs, start making toast, and finish cooking breakfast. By the time all that is done, an hour has gone by since waking up. I'm kind of worn out from all the standing after I finished cooking breakfast.

Dinner: This is a prepackaged salmon that I found in the frozen food section that is pretty good. There are two in a package. I forgot what the flavor is supposed to be because I threw the box away. Those are frozen vegetables on the plate. There's still steam coming off of them in the photo.

Drawn in 30 seconds.

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