How much does working with someone constitute endorsing them?
That's the question at the center of a debate happening all over social media right now. It's come to light that rapper Ice Cube has been working with Donald Trump on something he is calling "The Platinum Plan." The aim of the plan, according to Trump's camp, is to create three million jobs for Black Americans.
Interestingly, it was not Ice Cube who revealed his involvement—a detail some people feel indicates that he was trying to hide it. It came out in a tweet from Katrina Pierson, a White House advisors and a self-described "Trump loyalist."
Her tweet thanked him for "stepping up."
That one little tweet was enough to set the internet on fire. There are more than a few relevant bits of information here, so we're going to take them one at a time.
First, we have the now-expected "there's a tweet for everything" moment. In 2016 Ice Cube tweeted, in no uncertain terms, exactly how he felt about the idea of endorsing Donald Trump.
We're going to go with a screenshot here because Cube is ... well he's Ice Cube and his Twitter is not always rated E for Everyone.
@icecube / Twitter screenshot
But does working with Trump necessarily mean Cube as joined team MAGA?
Some people absolutely believe so.
But Ice Cube himself likely wouldn't be one of them.
He and his team strongly denied working with Donald Trump is an endorsement. In fact, they claim to have contacted both the GOP and key Democratic figures and will sit to discuss the issue with anyone.
A big part of the talks hinge on the Contract With Black America, or CWBA, a document that outlines ways in which the United States can address and rectify some of the affects of systemic racism.
Cube clarified.
Ice Cube gave an interview on Roland Martin to talk about the Platinum Plan and his involvement, but it left people with more questions than answers. Reviewing the "Platinum Plan" shows almost none of the CWBA suggestions were used.
If the suggestions weren't used, then why is Ice Cube working to promote the Platinum Plan? If his suggestions weren't part of the plan, then what was? And what was his actual level of involvement?
Ice Cube didn't seem to know what the plan actually consisted of, how it would be executed, or how it would benefit the Black community overall.
It could be argued that Cube was under-prepared for the interview considering he is not a trained political analyst or speaker. But it could be just as easily argued that, given that his rap career was built on being an incredibly vocal critic of the sociopolitical landscape, he should have nailed this.
People are torn here.
But that doesn't mean Ice Cube doesn't have some seriously salient points.
As he stated, this is a bi-partisan issue as far as he is concerned. Who he is in talks with doesn't matter to him as much as getting the job done does.
A lot of people agreed if progress is going to happen, you have to work for it wherever you can.
The timing may not have been perfect, but the goal is a good one.
Some issues are too important to be partisan about, people agree on that. But there is also some concern Ice Cube is being used and manipulated by Trump.
Unfortunately, Trump appears to not be only one. Democratic leaders appeared to initially ignore Ice Cube, and CNN canceled their interview with him.
