Donald Trump has nothing for women or people of color. So what happened when a Black woman attended one of his campaign events? She expressed her disinterest in a way that even the troll in Donald Trump would have to appreciate.
The talk of Trump’s recent appearance in Springfield, Illinois is not about his ridiculous thoughts on immigration or even an off-hand comment made at some woman’s expense. Instead, it was about 23-year-old Johari Osayi Idusuyi’s response to his speech.
Idusuyi was a trending topic and was even featured on Jimmy Kimmel.
Idusuyi is not a Trump supporter but she attended his rally with an open, unbiased mind. She told Jezebel that her friend’s family had bailed on her and she thought it would be a good opportunity to hear a presidential candidate speak.
She ended up directly behind Trump as a bit of a fluke. Not realizing that she was located in the VIP section, she asked if anyone was sitting in the seat she eventually chose. A volunteer for the event said, “No, it’s VIP.” Later, a gentleman asked, “Would you like to sit in VIP?” and she said “Ok, I mean, why not?” She told Jezebel, “I think we were chosen for obvious reasons. We are minorities and there weren’t a lot of minorities there. He also instructed us to sit in the middle, so we kind of already knew what this was.”
But after listening to Trump’s polarizing views, she’d had enough.
“The way Donald Trump said, ‘Get them out of here’- when you say those words, that activates your supporters to be able to be the same way. Then there was a man who snatched a lady’s Obama hat. She was one of the protesters and was leaving and her hair just went with the hat. Then he threw it into crowd and everybody cheered. I thought, “That’s bullying. That’s aggressive.” I don’t think Trump handled it with grace. I thought, “Oh, you’re really not empathetic at all.” That’s when the shift happened.”
But that wasn’t it.
“To hear 10,000 people cheer for something so disrespectful is what made me so mad. And that’s when I was like, I am now genuinely not interested in your speech. I wanted to leave, but I came, I’m in the middle, I’m on camera, so I might as well read because I don’t have anything else to do. I’m not going to waste my time listening to somebody who I can’t respect anymore, so I started to read.”
And it just so happened that she had a very appropriate piece of literature with her called Citizen with her. The book, by Claudia Rankine, is about the prevalence of racism in America.
But some people in the VIP section weren’t too happy to see Idusuyi so disengaged. As you can see from the Vine above, a man tapped her, telling her to turn around and listen to Trump’s speech. Clearly, Idusuyi wasn’t here for it.
“I got tapped on the shoulder. I think it was a couple. The man, he was mad but not as mad as his maybe-spouse. He had a more calm demeanor, just like, if you don’t want to be here, leave. They both said it but hers was more from a place of genuine disgust and anger. I feel like he was a mouthpiece for her. And he probably was kind of mad, but I don’t think he would have tapped me on the shoulder if it wasn’t for the woman. The woman kept saying, “If you don’t wanna be here then leave. You didn’t even stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.” I said, “I do want to be here, that’s why I’m here. You don’t know who I am. I’m reading my book because I’m uninterested. Did you not just see what happened? This person disrespects women, minorities, everybody and you’re still supporting him. He’s not saying anything of substance.” If I met this couple at an event or a dinner party, I would think they were nice people. They probably are nice people. But I don’t think they have any right to tell me what to do. The lady, actually, she mumbled something. I didn’t hear but my friend told me the next day that she said, “I’m so glad you’re not my daughter,” or something along those lines. And I was thinking, “I’m glad I’m not your daughter either!”
I’m genuinely tickled at the White woman who thought saying ‘I’m so glad you’re not my daughter’ would somehow deeply wound Idusuyi. The audacity and self-important nature of that statement alone is enough to make your stomach turn.
Idusuyi is being lauded as a hero all over the internet for expressing a very clear message when she could have easily been used as a token at a Trump rally. And I have to agree.
Bravo to this young lady!
the nerve and entitlement that couple has. Props to the sister she gave 0 fukks. I just wish she would've chucked that book at trump's bullshyt hairpiece
