Photo : Chris Kleponis ( Getty Images )

Black Trump supporters have come under increased scrutiny after a recent crowd engaged in racist chants. On Wednesday, entertainer Bette Midler came under fire from Trump supporters for saying Trump paid African Americans to be in “the blackground.”




In June, MSNBC’s Heidi Przybyla revealed that one of the black guys regularly seen at Trump rallies was friends with Sean Hannity:

The Root dispatched Senior Writers Michael Harriot and Stephen Crockett—who have both done extensive investigative work on Negro Trump-pets—to find out more about these black MAGA-scots who appear in the blackground of nearly every Trump rally. We found a family who claims they have appeared at more than 92 Trump speeches.


Here is the transcript of their interview:

Stephen A. Crockett Jr.: (whispering) Mike, this is such a stupid idea. What if this is a family of underground clones trying to kill us? Think about it: They wear red. They have dumb looks on their faces. Man, they don’t pay me enough for this shit.

Michael Harriot: Are you talking about the plot of Us? It’s just a movie, bruh. I’m sure we’ll be OK. Just chill, here they come now.

SAC: Man, these people are Untethereds. I told you!

MH: Before we begin, could you tell me your names, and how many MAGA rallies you’ve attended?


Deplorable Darryl: Sure. My name is James but everyone calls me Deplorable Darryl. I have attended 47 rallies.

SAC: (Mike turns to Steve: Hahahaha your initials are “Sack…” Steve ignores him) Wait… Your name is James. Why do they call you Deplorable Darryl?


Darryl: Well, President Trump gave me that name after Hillary Clinton insulted his followers. Now I’m proud to call myself a deplorable!

SAC: Nigga, I’m talking about the Darryl part? Why did he name you Darryl?

Darryl: He said I look like a Darryl or a Tyrone. It probably has something to do with alliteration or something. That’s part of Donald Trump’s nicknaming genius!


SAC: You seriously believe Trump even knows what the word “alliteration” means? Get the fuck outta here.

MH: I’m sorry. Stephen is a little…passionate, shall we say, about Donald Trump.

SAC: My bad. (Turns to the woman) And you, ma’am?

Keisha Deplorable: I’m Darryl’s wife My name is Keisha L—

James Deplorable Jr.: (Interrupting) Mama, don’t give him our last name, I gotta go to school tomorrow! I don’t even like that racist old white man.


Keisha: I’m sorry for my son James Junior’s interruption. JJ’s been mad ever since I made him go to that Trump rally last year. He’s very intelligent but he’s not really big on politics.

JJ: I know a lot about politics! That’s why I hate Trump! He’s undermining the very fabric of our democracy! My mama only likes him because she thinks she can get her own reality show! That’s why she dressed my little sister in a baptism dress and made me wear that dumb Boy Scout costume!


Darryl: Boy hush!

MH: What is he talking about?

Keisha (Pulls out a picture): He’s referring to this rally in Pensacola, Fla. when his dad and I asked him to play a Boy Scout character so we could be seated up front. See? It worked!


Illustration : Michael Harriot ( The Root ) , Screenshot : Fox 10 ( YouTube )

JJ: I’m not even a Boy Scout! Aside from sleeping on the sidewalk outside of Trump rallies to get in early, I have never been camping in my life!


Keisha: I thought I told you to hush! You won’t be complaining when I’m starring in the Real Housewives of MAGA.

JJ: I don’t even want to be on TV!

SAC: OK, OK. First of all, Darryl, James, whatever the fuck your name is, were you upset when Bette Midler called you Trump’s “blackground”?


Darryl: Of course not! I love Bette Mi dler. The Golden Girls is one of my favorite shows.

MH: Wait, you’re thinking of Betty White, not Bette Mi dler.

Keisha: Right, Bette Midler was a black-and-white film star, may she rest in power.


SAC: No, dummy! That’s Bette Davis. Bette Midler is a singer and an actress.

Darryl: First of all, why are you so hostile? Secondly, don’t call my wife a dummy just because we attend Trump rallies. I’m just doing this for my career.


I’m hoping to get a job in the White House in 2020. Maybe as head of the VA, Secretary of Defense or a seat on the National Security Council.

MH: I didn’t know you were a veteran.

Darryl: I’m not. I work at Chipotle cutting up onions. But Trump’s advisers have assured me that I am more than qualified for any number of high-ranking jobs. All I have to do is keep holding up the signs, smile and I’m in! And with wifey bringing in that reality show money, we’ll be set!


SAC: You gotta be kidding me! This Bama is doing this for a job. Let’s bounce, Mike. I told you this was a stupid idea.

MH: Wait, Stephen. Let’s hear them out. Wait…Where’s the daughter who was in the pictures?


Keisha: She ran away after the Michigan rally a few months ago. She couldn’t take it. Look, man, We’re just trying to get ahead. We thought you two would understand, unlike Bette Midler. I don’t know why she’s hating; I loved her in the 1976 version of A Star is Born.

SAC: That was Barbra Streisand.

Keisha: Oh. Well, you act like we don’t know what’s going on. We understand that they’re using us as the token black family to show that the president has a diverse set of followers. We’re black. We’re used to it. But we also know that Trump’s base doesn’t need a screenshot of negroes in the background to justify their racism. Those people are gonna do what they do regardless. We’re just trying to get in where I fit in. I assumed someone like Bette Midler would understand since she was best friends with Michael Jackson.


MH: That was Liza Minnelli.

SAC: Am I the only sane person here? Can’t you see that Trump is a homophobic, racist, xenophobic idiot?


Darryl: Of course we do.

Keisha: Yeah, he’s racist as fuck.

SAC: So how can you still support him?

Darryl: Sir, my manager at Chipotle is a 24-year-old white boy with a high school diploma. He yells at me when I slice the onions too thin. You think wearing a MAGA hat is less degrading than that?


We’re just a family in a traveling circus riding along in the clown car. It might be distasteful, but we get to fly to cities around the world, be on TV and eat McDonald’s with Sean Hannity.

MH: Well, have you learned anything? What are you teaching your son?

Darryl: Well, I’ve learned that Sean likes Habanero Ranch sauce with his McNuggets. I used to feel a little shy about ordering the barbecue sauce with mine. It made me feel a little nigger-ish until—


JJ: (interrupting): I’ll tell you what I’ve learned: I learned to smile and act polite when I see someone waving the Confederate flag. I’ve learned that economic anxiety is just a code-word for racism. I’ve learned that Hillary Clinton is the devil, Obama is the Antichrist and there was definitely “no obstruction, no collusion.”

But you know what else I discovered?

I discovered that my parents aren’t any different from anyone else in that audience. Everyone there knows Trump is a liar. Everyone there knows Trump is a bigot. They all think he’s not very smart. Every single person in every single arena, amphitheater and airplane hangar knows full well that Trump is out to enrich and empower himself. And you know why they don’t care?


Because they want to do it, too.

They don’t care about children in cages as long as they don’t have to worry about brown people dating their daughters and moving in next door. They don’t care about unconstitutional Muslim bans if they can get their brand of religious fundamentalism on the Supreme Court. They don’t care about telling their president to “send her back” as long they get to scream the n-word in the checkout line at Piggly Wiggly.


And isn’t that the original American dream? A nation owned and controlled by white supremacy? It’s bullshit. It’s all bullshit!

Keisha: Junior! Where did you learn those profane words?

JJ: From the president, Ma. Where do you think I learned them? (sighs)...I gotta get out of this family. Mr. Crockett, will you adopt me?


SAC: No, but if you’ll excuse me, I have a phone call to make. Does anyone know the number to Child Protective Services?

MH: OK, it’s time to wrap this up. Mr. and Mrs. Deplorable, just to be clear, you weren’t upset that Bette Midler referred to black Trump voters as his “blackground?”


Keisha: Voters? We would never vote for that motherfucker.

Darryl: Oh, hell no! I’d eat at Chipotle before I did that. It’s just a job, man. Besides, does anyone care what Bette Midler thinks? I would cuss her ass out but I was taught not to speak ill of the dead.


MH: Again, she’s not dead!

Keisha: I know, I know. Her work lives on through Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia. Rest in Peace, Bette Midler. Thank you for being a friend.


Darryl: That’s why I can’t be mad at her. Her heart was true. She was a pal and a confidante.

SAC: Man, I’m out.

JJ: (whispering) Take me with you. Please?