Earlier this month, Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) touted Housing and Urban Development official Lynne Patton, who is black, as evidence that President Donald Trump is not a racist. The action was met with outrage.
Today during an appearance on MNSBC, Trump campaign advisor Katrina Pierson challenged Reverend Al Sharpton on the absence of black senior staffers in the White House by invoking Abraham Lincoln.
"How many black people were in Abraham Lincoln's West Wing? It's absurd to even go in that direction...Was Abraham Lincoln a racist because he didn't have a black person in the West Wing? This is insane. It's an insane discussion."
When Lincoln was president, black people had no voting rights, and were regarded as second-class citizens. Also, it was 150 years ago. Is that the best she can do?
Watch below:
Sharpton quickly corrected her:
"You can't name a black in the West Wing cause we can't find one, Katrina. I pity you, I sympathize with you...It is unthinkable in the 21st century that even the spokesperson for President Trump can't name a black in the West Wing."
People were flabbergasted at Pierson's answer.
Pierson suggested that black people had been offered jobs at the White House but hadn't accepted. She claimed that she herself had been offered White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders's job.
"I pity you," said Sharpton, "I sympathize with you, but telling me you applied, and other people applied...come on."
Sharpton perfectly called out the lack of diversity under the Trump administration. "You can't name a black in the West Wing," Sharpton said, "because we can't find one."
