The rapper Ice Cube developed a 13-point plan to help black Americans.
The Biden campaign indicated it would talk to him after the election. The Trump administration engaged right away, and then incorporated several of the rapper’s ideas into the president’s “Platinum Plan” for black Americans. That includes providing a $500 billion capital infusion into the black community, which is the biggest part of Ice Cube’s plan.
So now Ice Cube, 51, is getting ripped by the Left for helping Trump. But he isn’t helping Trump, and he hasn’t endorsed the president; he is working to help the black community and taking political support wherever he can find it. The Biden campaign, meanwhile, is doing what Democrats often do: they are taking black support for granted. Kinda like when Biden told Charlamagne tha God “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
N.W.A. goes MAGA?
Ice Cube (real name O’Shea Jackson) had previously developed his own plan to lift up the black community, called the Contract with Black America.
Both campaigns reached out to express interest, but Trump’s team was willing to meet right away. So Ice Cube quietly worked with the White House, which adopted pieces of his plan. Cube even secretly attended a three-hour meeting at the White House in September with some of the president’s top advisors.
On Oct. 13, White House senior advisor Katrina Pierson publicly thanked him on Twitter, writing, “Leaders gonna lead, haters gonna hate. Thank you for leading!”
The tweet resulted in swift blowback for helping the Trump administration. New York Times op-ed contributor Roxane Gay asked on Twitter, “How… does the guy from NWA become MAGA?”
The rapper has been responding to the criticism on Twitter.
On Oct. 14, he tweeted: “Facts: I put out the CWBA. Both parties contacted me. Dems said we’ll address the CWBA after the election. Trump campaign made some adjustments to their plan after talking to us about the CWBA.”
On Oct. 15, he tweeted: “I will advise anybody on the planet who has the power to help Black Americans close the enormous wealth gap.”
On Oct. 16, he tweeted: “When I got bus to school. Homies called me a sellout. When I started rapping in 1983. Bangers called me a sellout. When I left NWA. They called me a sellout. When I start doing movies. Rappers called me a sellout. When I started my own league. The arena said it was a sellout.”
Then on Oct. 17, he tweeted: “A lot of energy being spent on telling me to stay in my lane. Zero energy spent on telling Biden/Harris they need to do way more for Black people to sure up the vote. Smh”
Ice Cube previously posted a video in which he criticized democrats for not doing enough to help the black community, and he pointed out that Trump was willing to take some of his ideas.
“I think the democrats they, you know they got every black celebrity and shit on their team so they just figure you know, tell Cube to shut the fuck up and vote. And so, I ain’t gonna do that, I’m gonna push the program. We got a program, I’m pushing it on everybody,” he said.
“Joe Biden, you know, the Democrats, I believe they owe us. Will they do right by us? At the end of the day who knows.”
Ice Cube is no Trump fan; in 2018 he even released as song titled “Arrest the President.” But he decided he would work with anyone willing to help advance his plan. And that – right there – is something that people should appreciate and do more of. There are lots of issues people can find agreement on, yet politicians end up fighting over the disagreements instead.
Ice Cube working with the Trump administration does not mean he backs everything Trump does. But working together on the parts where both sides agree is a big improvement and a great way to move forward with less partisan fighting and division.
Trump is known as being a transactional leader; a deal maker. Trump wants more support from the black community, and he says he’s willing to make a deal to make that happen.
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