Few people on earth can inspire more hatred from the left than black conservatives.
From Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the presence of people with darker skin who do not subscribe to the progressive narrative on race has caused the left to abandon all pretense of “social justice” in response.
And another black conservative, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida’s 19th Congressional District, found himself this week on the receiving end of that pattern when confronting protesters at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., as reported by the New York Post.
As seen in this video shared to the social media platform X by the Daily Caller, Donalds was touring an encampment of anti-Israel protesters on GWU’s campus on Wednesday when one of the protesters decided to crudely express his depressingly predictable judgment of Donalds.
Byron Donalds called “race traitor” and “Uncle Tom” by protester at GW@ByronDonalds claps back with “That guy’s really old to be in college.” pic.twitter.com/02uYn5aDRt
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 1, 2024
While Donalds was fielding questions from reporters, a thickly accented man shouted “how much is AIPAC paying you?” It was a remark Donalds either ignored or never heard.
“AIPAC” is the acronym for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an organization dedicated to advocating pro-Israel policies in the U.S — and, of course, one can be anti-Hamas without being in the pocket of the pro-Israel lobby.
The protester then, apparently wanting his heckling to draw some reaction, yelled again “how much is AIPAC paying you, you race traitor?”
Did Byron Donalds handle this well?
That finally got Donalds’ attention, as well it might.
Because, one might reasonably ask, what did race have to do with supporting a terrorist organization?
If you have more melanin in your skin and you don’t subscribe to the idea that Hamas and the Palestinians are all poor innocent victims of the evil Israelis, why would that mean you have betrayed the black race?
Some folks in the crowd could be heard to say, “Race traitor, what?,” sharing the same incredulity, as Donalds turned to face the heckler, while the heckler shouted back “yeah!”
The man then yelled. “Outside agitators aren’t allowed, you’re working for a foreign entity you b******.”
Donalds, calmly looking at the man, remarked, “That guy’s really old to be in college,” before turning back to the reporters as if nothing important had happened.
And really, that was the best possible way Donalds could have handled that.
For one, the protester’s line of attack was truly abhorrent.
Who was he to say that, if Donalds did not conform to a certain line of thinking, he was therefore a traitor to his entire race? (The fact that the man appeared to be not-at-all black just made it more bizarre.)
That was but another brand of racism that the left has frequently indulged in, from Joe Biden’s infamous “you ain’t black” moment during the 2020 presidential campaign to “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin calling scholar Coleman Hughes a “charlatan” to his face in March because he did not fully subscribe to the progressive left’s victimhood narrative about minorities in the United States.
Indeed, it was far more racist for the GWU protester to assume that Donalds must oppose Israel because of his skin color is more racist than anything Donalds himself could have said or done.
For another, the man clearly was getting up there in years.
As another conservative politician visiting the encampment, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, told the crowd, according to The Hill, “We know for a fact that there are professional, organized protesters that are not students, who are currently inciting what you are seeing happen at this community right now.”
While there are older folks who return to college later in life, they usually have more interest in pursing actual studies than engaging in political theater. The vast majority of the actual students protesting are young and dumb liberals.
How ironic for this protester to castigate Donalds for being an “outside agitator,” when he, more than likely, was one himself. (Assuming he wasn’t on the faculty, which would be even worse.)
When faced with such ridiculous attacks, never mind such unearned hate, Donalds responded in perhaps the best way possible: Not answering directly, remaining perfectly calm, and illustrating the absurdity of their rhetoric in only a few, well-chosen words.
You could hardly think of a more perfect response.
