President Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to cast aside partisan interests in pursuit of other, far nobler achievements. His recent efforts in Georgia, for example, helped Raphael Warnock become the first black Democrat to represent a southern state in the U.S. Senate. (Tim Scott, a Republican, has represented South Carolina since 2013.)
Warnock's historic victory over Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R., Ga.) is merely the latest example of Trump's single-minded obsession with helping the African-American community. Trump could have taken a more partisan approach to the Georgia runoff elections by working to elect the Republican candidates. Instead, he transcended partisanship by depressing GOP turnout, employing a sophisticated strategy that involved accusations of a "rigged" presidential election and attacks on Georgia Republicans.
Earlier this week, Trump indicated that his efforts to bolster the careers of black politicians—regardless of party—would continue into the 2022 election cycle. Speaking to a crowd of GOP voters in Dalton, Ga., the president vowed to support a primary campaign against Brian Kemp, the state's "incompetent" Republican governor. Doing so will certainly increase the odds that prominent black woman Stacey Abrams, the presumptive Democratic nominee, will win the gubernatorial race in 2022.
Unlike most politicians, Trump has never allowed his loyalty to a political party to supersede his loyalty to the American people, the Constitution, and the cause of racial justice. "I love the black community and I've done more for the black community than any other president ... with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln," he said in September.
And unlike most politicians, Trump actually backs up his words with actions. On Wednesday, for example, as Warnock supporters were celebrating the candidate's historic win, Trump was attacking "weak Republicans" and threatening to "primary the hell out of" GOP lawmakers who refuse to back his efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election.