John James, one of the three primary Republican candidates for governor in Michigan, is the candidate President Donald Trump has endorsed. He’s also Black, which is both obvious and shouldn’t matter, in a world none of us currently live in.
But we live in this world. Which is why the race of John James – and the fact that Trump has endorsed him ‒ matters for this particular column.
Anybody who has ever read just one word I have ever written about the current president of the United States should be well aware of the fact that I kinda don’t like him. To list all of the reasons why I kinda don’t like Donald Trump would take more space than is usually allotted to me for my periodic observations in this newspaper, so for now, let’s just leave that right there.
Because of my rather strong and vocal opinions expressed in opposition to just about everything Donald Trump represents, it should come as little surprise that I’m not a supporter of much of anything John James represents, either – at least when it comes to politics. The fact that we belong to the same racial classification doesn’t mean much more than that. We’re both Black, and that’s about it.
But that “it,” just that single thread of race, can be strong enough to tie you to someone with whom you have practically nothing else in common.
Three candidates and a lot of racial subtext walk into a debate …
OK, so this is going to be very hard for some of you to believe, but stick with me.
I actually watched not just one but two recently televised debates featuring James and his opponents, former state Attorney General Mike Cox and businessman Perry Johnson, in the race to become Michigan’s next governor. The Fox 2 Detroit debate, hosted by anchor Roop Raj, and the WOOD TV debate from Grand Rapids, moderated by the station’s political reporter, Rick Albin.
I must confess I never in my life would have considered spending two hours of my summer weekend watching a Republican debate, had it not been for the urging of a friend who suggested there was something being said in these debates that I might want to check out.
Yep. Something about race. So I decided to check it out, and sure enough, the debates did not disappoint.
‘I didn’t know we were getting into DEI’
At one point, Johnson was accusing James of importing auto parts and supplies from China that he could have gotten from Michigan companies.
For those who don’t know, James’ family business is in auto supply. That’s the kind of accusation you would expect during a heated debate, especially since James is the leading candidate in the race. As the front-runner, James can expect to attract the lion’s share of attacks from his opponents during a debate, whether the accusations are verified or not. They need to tear him down to try and make a dent in his lead – or at least that’s the way the strategy usually works.
But then Perry had to play the race card because, well, why not? Right? You’re a white guy who’s losing to a Black guy, so why not accuse the Black guy of not playing fair by benefiting (???) from being a Black guy in America. Here’s what Perry said:
“He (John James) did get an award from DEI because they’re very woke and all of those got special awards because that’s what his company does.”
Really, Perry? Really?
Then. Mike Cox couldn’t quite resist, either. Hey, it was Perry who opened that door. Cox ‒ whose proposes to improve Michigan school performance by telling schools to “teach the ABCs, not DEI” ‒ must’ve figured, why not walk on through?
“I didn’t know we were getting into DEI,” said Cox, who could have left it right there and gotten back on topic. But where’s the fun in that?
Cox went on to say, “I’ve never had DEI in any of my companies. I led the fight in 2006 to enshrine anti-affirmative action DEI into our Constitution when all the leaders were against it.”
In other words, Yeah, what Perry said. That Black guy ain’t playing fair if he was for diversity.
‘Nepo baby.’ Mike Cox said that.
But Cox didn’t stop there, which he might now regret. Cox actually tried to play the white working class card against James, talking about his humble origins as the son of a carpenter (his father) and a maid (his mother), and how he could better identify with the struggles of ordinary Michiganders than someone like James whom he called a “nepo baby” and a “trust fund baby.”
Yes. Really. He said that. Let’s go to the tape:
“I’m the son of a union carpenter,” said Cox to James. “I understand what outsourcing has done to Michigan over the past three decades, it is decimated. And you can smile about that because you’re the son of a CEO. That’s why you smile about people losing their jobs. I’m not. I’m here to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. And you can talk some rap. But that’s total nonsense.”
And that right there opened the door wide for James to slap Cox about as hard as Will Smith did to Chris Rock. Let’s listen to James’ lively response, shall we?
“I am the son of a CEO who’s a truck driver. His father was a mason. His father was a sharecropper. His father was a slave. How dare you shame the steps it takes to come up from Mississippi and build a life of prosperity for a family like mine? We’ve been dedicating our lives to service for people like you.”
As we used to say, back in the day, “Oh snap.”
The claim that Black people have an advantage in America is absurd
At another juncture, Johnson tried to insinuate (as have other extraordinarily wealthy and self-funded Republican candidates of the past), that his money makes him immune to outside influence, whereas James, whom he accuses of being the recipient of too much campaign cash, is bought and paid for. James said, and I quote:
“Perry, I know when you were born Black people could still be bought and sold in this country. But no one owns me.”
Whaaaaaaat? Was this a Republican debate or the WWE?
So then later, after the WOOD TV debate, during the scrum when reporters got to ask a lot of follow-up questions to each of the candidates, Perry was hit with hard with questions about what, exactly, was up with that DEI accusation he made against James? Here’s how that went:
Perry Johnson: “Well, he did get DEI awards. They’re woke awards. When I say ‘DEI candidate,’ I’m just referring to the fact that he has these companies that have won these awards, and I’m not big on woke. So when we talk about woke, I get a little concerned.”
Reporter: “What DEI awards?”
Perry Johnson: “Well, his company.”
Reporter: “Are we talking grant money? Like DEI grants?”
Perry Johnson: “I was just told that he won these awards. That’s all that I know.”
Told by whom, Perry?
Look, I will say again that Trump’s endorsement of John James is all I need to know to know we will likely never agree on much of anything. The fact that he is proud of that endorsement makes my stomach queasy.
But for either Perry Johnson or Mike Cox to try and question James’ accomplishments in business, based on an absurd claim that he has benefited from an unfair playing field or a gold-plated family legacy, is both laughable and absurd.
I would say that they can do better but, well, I doubt they can.
Free Press contributing columnist Keith A. Owens is a local writer and co-founder of Detroit Stories Quarterly and the We Are Speaking Substack newsletter and podcast. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online and in print.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mike Cox and Perry Johnson made me defend John James | Opinion
Reporting by Keith A. Owens, Contributing columnist / Detroit Free Press
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By Keith A. Owens, Contributing columnist | USA TODAY Network
