The Black History Month reception held at the White House on Thursday had all of the pomp of celebrations past. Guests sipped champagne and snacked on lamb chops and collard greens. The crowd delighted in their invitations, snapping selfies. And when President Trump walked out alongside one of the greatest Black athletes in the world, Tiger Woods, the crowd roared with their phones in the air.
But the dissonance in the East Room was jarring.
Mr. Trump may have praised the contributions of Black Americans on Thursday, but he has spent the weeks since his inauguration eviscerating federal programs aimed at combating inequality in America. He has suggested that efforts spurred by the civil rights movement had made victims out of white people. He blamed a deadly plane crash over the Potomac River on diversity programs in the Federal Aviation Administration.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump tried to show appreciation to the Black community by extolling those he sees as representative of Black American progress.
“Let me ask you,” Mr. Trump said as he began his remarks, “is there anybody like our Tiger?”
Mr. Trump and Mr. Woods are actively engaged in negotiations in search of a lucrative golf merger deal, and the president referred to Mr. Woods repeatedly during his roughly 20-minute address. Mr. Woods wasn’t the only Black athlete to get a shout-out; Mr. Trump also heralded Muhammad Ali and Kobe Bryant.
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The president, who made gains with Black voters in 2024, told the crowd of more than 400 guests that “we’re going to work with you.”
During his remarks, Mr. Trump made little reference to issues that have historically plagued the Black community, such as elevated poverty rates, the wage and wealth gap between Black and white Americans, and gun violence. He promised to put statues of Black Americans in a new “National Garden of American Heroes.”
Among those to be honored was Prince Estabrook, an enslaved man and the first Black American to spill blood in the Revolutionary War, along with Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin — and maybe Mr. Woods one day, Mr. Trump said.
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The president also used a piece of Black history — the year that the first enslaved Africans arrived in America, which has gained widespread recognition in recent years — to take shots at his political opponents.
“The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year, 1619,” Mr. Trump said. “But under our administration, we honor the indispensable role Black Americans have always played in the immortal cause of another date, 1776.”
But the dissonance in the East Room was jarring.
Mr. Trump may have praised the contributions of Black Americans on Thursday, but he has spent the weeks since his inauguration eviscerating federal programs aimed at combating inequality in America. He has suggested that efforts spurred by the civil rights movement had made victims out of white people. He blamed a deadly plane crash over the Potomac River on diversity programs in the Federal Aviation Administration.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump tried to show appreciation to the Black community by extolling those he sees as representative of Black American progress.
“Let me ask you,” Mr. Trump said as he began his remarks, “is there anybody like our Tiger?”
Mr. Trump and Mr. Woods are actively engaged in negotiations in search of a lucrative golf merger deal, and the president referred to Mr. Woods repeatedly during his roughly 20-minute address. Mr. Woods wasn’t the only Black athlete to get a shout-out; Mr. Trump also heralded Muhammad Ali and Kobe Bryant.
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The president, who made gains with Black voters in 2024, told the crowd of more than 400 guests that “we’re going to work with you.”
During his remarks, Mr. Trump made little reference to issues that have historically plagued the Black community, such as elevated poverty rates, the wage and wealth gap between Black and white Americans, and gun violence. He promised to put statues of Black Americans in a new “National Garden of American Heroes.”
Among those to be honored was Prince Estabrook, an enslaved man and the first Black American to spill blood in the Revolutionary War, along with Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin — and maybe Mr. Woods one day, Mr. Trump said.
Sign up for the Race/Related Newsletter Join a deep and provocative exploration of race, identity and society with New York Times journalists. Get it sent to your inbox.
The president also used a piece of Black history — the year that the first enslaved Africans arrived in America, which has gained widespread recognition in recent years — to take shots at his political opponents.
“The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year, 1619,” Mr. Trump said. “But under our administration, we honor the indispensable role Black Americans have always played in the immortal cause of another date, 1776.”
