Being obviously racist came so easy to the Trump administration.
President Obama put Harriet Tubman on the twenty-dollar bill.
Trump stopped it, helped by a feckless Steve Mnuchin:
As George Cassidy Payne wrote in 2019:
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has announced that he is focused solely on the security features of the currency revamp and that what the currency would look like would be left for a successor. In his words, "It is not a decision that is likely to come until way past my term." By that, he meant 2026 or even as late as 2028.
I am not surprised that Trump is ordering Mnuchin to postpone the new design until he is out of office. Not only is Trump an avid fan of Andrew Jackson, but he has also shown on numerous occasions that he knows close to nothing about African American history (remember his embarrassing remarks about Frederick Douglass?).
Surprising or not, I still think the President's attitude towards one of the most courageous and influential freedom fighters in our country's history should be called out for what it is. Trump is not pushing back against political correctness, defending the reputation of a U.S. war hero, or safeguarding our nation's currency. Donald Trump is, put simply, expressing and enacting an overtly racist agenda. As far as Trump is concerned, it will be a cold day in Hell before he lets a black woman onto American money. Not on his watch. Not if he has anything to do with it.
Biden returned to the non-racist policy.
We must never again allow a racist or his political party to hold the White House. Period.
UPDATE: Steve M. has a round up of conservative Republican racist reaction to the Tubman 20.
