A controversial Forbes magazine column with a headline questioning whether former President Donald Trump would turn out more black voters if he survived Saturday’s assassination attempt has been removed from the website following backlash on social media.
An article by scholar and self-described DEI expert Sean Harper titled “Is surviving a gunfight going to be Donald Trump’s next appeal to black voters?” was posted Sunday morning and was immediately slammed by X’s critics.
The column described how black Americans face “inexcusably” high levels of gun violence, including in many urban areas, and Harper wrote that Trump could address this through legislation and financial investments in urban black communities.
The author said Trump was trying to appeal to black voters after he faced various criminal charges and had his mug shot taken in one of the incidents last year.
“Hopefully, getting shot will not lead to an equally problematic strategy to link Trump to what too many (though not all) black people are experiencing,” the column read in part.
“Instead, using his powerful base to make the case for fixing this problem through public policy and significant financial investment in urban Black communities is the opportunity that awaits Trump once he recovers from the tragedy at his rally.”
However, social media users were outraged by the column and its headline.
“What everyone on my feed, from MAGA to progressives, agrees on is that this random Forbes op-ed piece is awful. Maybe it can be a starting point for healing,” wrote political commentator Tim Miller.
“Forbes is just being racist,” argued film director Randy Wilkins. “It’s not a big deal.”
The paper’s labor union also condemned the column.
“This post does not represent the kind of newsroom we are at @ForbesUnion or our ethical or journalistic principles,” the account tweeted.
When I tried to access the online article I got a 404 error and was sent back to the home page.
The column came after Trump was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania but managed to walk off the stage under his own power. Three other people were shot, including a 50-year-old man, a father of two, who was killed.
The would-be assassin was shot dead by the Secret Service.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Harper said his column had been badly misinterpreted.
The Post reached out to Forbes for comment Sunday night.
