President Donald Trump barked back at Jay-Z on Sunday after the rapper called the POTUS’ “shithole countries” comment “disappointing and hurtful.”
The hip-hop mogul appeared on CNN’s “The Van Jones Show” Saturday night and was asked how he felt about the president reportedly calling Haiti and certain African nations “shitthole countries.”
“It’s disappointing and it’s hurtful,” Jay-Z said. “Everyone feels anger, but after the anger it’s really hurtful because he’s looking down on a whole population of people and he’s so misinformed because these places have beautiful people.”
The president responded in an early-morning tweet, saying, “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!”
Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2018
But further along in the interview with Jones, Jay-Z said that the president’s comment that the black community is doing well under his administration does not make him a good leader.
“It’s not about money at the end of the day,” the rapper said. “Money is not – money doesn’t equate to happiness. It doesn’t. That’s missing the whole point. You treat people like human beings, then – that’s the main point.”
Jones responded to the president’s Sunday morning tweet, writing, “Someone needs to inform @realdonaldtrump that I ALREADY asked Jay Z whether black employment figures redeem Trump’s presidency. And Jay’s answer last night on the #VanJonesShow was POWERFUL !!!”
Someone needs to inform @realdonaldtrump that I ALREADY asked Jay Z whether black employment figures redeem Trump’s presidency. And Jay’s answer last night on the #VanJonesShow was POWERFUL !!! … Watch the VIDEO for yourself: https://t.co/7Sv3rHKkmW https://t.co/jbHpkKOM5o
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) January 28, 2018
Although the current African-American unemployment rate reached a record low of 6.8 percent in December, according to a report in The Washington Post, it has been in a steady decline for many years. When former President Obama took office, it was at 13.7 percent and had dropped to 7.8 percent by the time Trump stepped in.