By Ulysses Stephen King, Jr.
On November 7, 2024, I wrote an article about the 2024 presidential election on my blog titled, “May I Be Angry, Please” (Ulysses S. King). I received a lot of criticism from my Christian friends and various readers after it was published. Some of my critics I knew, and others were curious to know what I had to say about the 2024 election and about Donald J. Trump. Many felt that I, as a minister and Christian leader, was wrong to express my personal views, opinions, and feelings publicly in my writing. In their opinion I was not fully representing Christ and his love. Christian leaders are expected to remain neutral, unbiased and apolitical they believed.
My critics insist that my responsibility as a Christian leader and pastor is to preach and share the Good News and the love of Jesus Christ not to have or share an opinion regarding political matters. They are correct but while I may agree with some of their criticisms and opinions, I am also convinced that they do not fully understand the role, duties, and responsibilities of being a Christian leader and pastor. Well, if you’re reading this article, you’re going to be upset with me again. I am angry and even angrier still than when I originally wrote the article.
I had recently ended teaching an online Bible study series from the book of Jeremiah, when three days later on February 5th, I was alerted to a racist video posted by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account. He is undeniably one of our nation’s worse presidents ever. I have in the past turned off the news whenever he said dumb and stupid things, but this was too painful to ignore.
By now most Americans—if not all—had heard or seen the racists video trope that was posted on his personal account depicting the former president of the United States, Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, as apes. I was angry and livid beyond words. I could not believe what I was seeing, hearing, and reading in the news. News commentators, education professionals, scholars and people from all walks of life were disgusted by the president’s racist trope. Politicians—Democrats and a few Republicans—insisted the video and post be taken down with an apology given to the Obamas.
Much have already been written, commented to—publicly and privately—about that weekend’s event. And I will not restate, comment nor rehearse their public response here. The public outcry against President Trump’s racist trope was too many to comment here. I will however, as a Christian leader, pastor, citizen, and human being state that I believe he should be removed from the Office of President of the United States immediately. He has become such an embarrassment to our nation and to its founding principles.
So, why mention it now? Unlike the Obamas who have handled this situation with class, professionalism, and dignity who will not allow Trump and his MAGA detractors to pull them down in the gutter, I personally am not as willing to turn the other cheek. The Obamas position have been “when they go low, we will go high.” The phrase was coined by former First Lady Michelle Obama during her speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. She introduced the mantra to advocate for maintaining integrity, dignity, and decency in the face of bullying or negative political attacks. But how low does one have to go before you’ve had enough of being trampled underfoot of evil people?
This is Black History Month, and as a black man surrounded by a dominated white society that still perpetuates and practices systematic racism, I have the right to speak out against racism and the hypocrisy that is pervasive throughout this country and in our government. Trump cares nothing about this being Black History Month. He is doing his very best to eradicate and remove it from being a national month of observance to commemorate Black’s contributions, achievements, and success to this nation and the world. This moment is much larger than just the Obamas. Trump is simply a myopic representation of what is wrong and evil in America today. Our nation is sick! Our president is morally sick and corrupt!
It is time now more than ever that the Black Christian Church speak with a prophetic voice—speaking truth to power. What does it mean to speak with a prophetic voice today? When I say the Black Church must speak with a prophetic voice and witness, I am saying America, and its leaders must be held accountable for its racists policies, views, and continued unjust attacks against black, brown, and indigenous peoples in this country. The Rev. Dr. Cornel West defines a prophetic witness “. . . consists of human acts of justice and kindness that attend to the unjust sources of human hurt and misery. Prophetic witness calls attention to the causes of unjustified suffering and unnecessary social misery. It highlights personal and institutional evil, including especially the evil of being indifferent to personal and institutional evil”(West). The Black Church today cannot remain silent in the face of evil.
President Trump’s unwillingness to apologize for posting this degrading and racist video of our former President and his wife speaks volumes about his views and character, and the character of this nation. White evangelicals who are supposed to represent Christ must also be held accountable to their support of an evil demonic leader. The New York Times report on President Trump’s video commented, “The clip was in line with Mr. Trump’s history of making degrading remarks about people of color, women and immigrants, and he has for years singled out the Obamas. Across Mr. Trump’s administration, racist images and slogans have become common on government websites and accounts, with the White House, Labor Department and Homeland Security Department all having promoted posts that echo white supremacist messaging”(Kanno-Youngs).
President Trump’s obsession over former President Obama is a clear sign of a man who is dysfunctional, delusional, weak, and mentally unstable with psychological tendencies of a man with narcissistic behavior. His attempt to dehumanize the former president made him feel superior. David Smith writes in The Guardian, “. . . Obama remains something of an obsession for Trump; the subject of a political and personal inferiority complex”(Smith). Smith also notes, “Observers point to a mix of anti-intellectualism, racism, vengeance and primitive envy over everything from Obama’s Nobel peace prize to the scale of his inauguration crowd and social media following.”
One need not look very far at many of the controversial decisions Trump has made during his second term as president, i.e., signing an executive order to end birthright citizenship and enacting the largest SNAP benefit cuts in history, totaling $187 billion through 2034; and directing the Department of Justice to investigate or terminate employees deemed “bad-faith actors” . . . and the list goes on.
Trump’s public comments and views are indicative of a deeper problem with his issues regarding race and the Obamas in particular. Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director on Capitol Hill and host of the Honestly Speaking podcast observes, “First off, Donald Trump has a problem where I think he’s just jealous of the fact that President Obama is still so admired. Number two, I think he has a problem with people of color who are in authority that don’t do the kind of song and dance that he wants them to do”(Smith).
There is, in my opinion, only one solution to the malaise of a sick society, leadership, and country: the citizens of this nation must wake up and demand that elected officials remove Trump and his puppets from office. The Black Church must do more now than just pray. It must act and respond to the moment by raising its prophetic voice against unjust, immoral, and evil leaders in government. Dr. Cornel West considers those who speak with a prophetic voice as a movement. He writes, “. . . it is undeniable that the challenge of keeping the prophetic Christian movement vital and vibrant in the age of the American empire is largely unmet as of yet. The pervasive sleepwalking in American churches in regard to social justice is frightening” (West)
There is a side of me that people love and expect for me to be. They enjoy that singing Charismatic-Pentecostal preacher who uses his gifts and talents to deliver the Good News in a sermon. But others struggle with that radical side of me that challenges the status quo and speaks out against unjust systems of prejudice and racism in society. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The shape of the world today does not permit us the luxury of soft-mindedness. A nation or a civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on an installment plan” (Martin Luther King). My personal prayer is, Father, please give me the strength to love and a strong mind that is fearless and a mouth to speak, “Thus, saith the Lord”, like Jeremiah to the powers of our time.
Kanno-Youngs, Erica L. GreenIsabella Kwai and Zolan. “‘I Didn’t Make a Mistake’: Trump Declines to Apologize for Racist Video of Obamas.” The New York Times 2026, sec. A: 1. Print.
Martin Luther King, Jr. “A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart.” Strength to Love. Fortress Press, 1963. 13. Print.
Smith, David. “‘It Eats Him Alive Inside’: Trump’s Latest Attack Shows Endless Obsession with Obama.” The Guardian 2020. Print.
Ulysses S. King, Jr. “May I Be Angry, Please.” Ulysses’ Quest 2024. Web.
West, Cornel. Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight against Imperialism. New York: The Penguin Press, 2004. 17, 168. Print.