American model Amber Rose fired back at MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Tuesday after the host criticized her address in support of former President Trump, dismissing her as “racially ambiguous.”
Rose spoke in front of a packed room at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee Monday night, recalling her own political conversion and how she went from thinking Trump was a “racist,” to supporting his movement.
Reid wasted little time tearing into the model on MSNBC, cautioning Black voters from embracing the message that Rose, a person of color with mainstream fame, had delivered on stage.
“She’s racially ambiguous. I don’t want to say she’s Black because she has said she’s not, so I don’t want to say this Black woman,” Reid said. “This woman who is of whatever race that she has claimed, she’s said she’s not Black, but [the RNC] brought somebody whose whole career is based in Black culture.”
“Her whole culture came from Black culture, even though she said she’s not a Black person herself, and the fact that she is now the person they’re using to try to recruit young people of color and to say that this is the person who is the endorser of Donald Trump who you should trust when she won’t even claim the culture that brought her to the table, I’m dubious that this will work,” Reid said.
Rose fired back on X Tuesday, accusing the MSNBC host of “race baiting.”
“Hi @JoyAnnReid I’ve never said I wasn’t Black. I said I identify as biracial,” Rose responded in a now-deleted tweet. “I’m not going to invalidate my White father to make you feel more comfortable. Stop being a race baiter ur president does enough race baiting for all of us.”
The model, who used to date rapper Kanye West, detailed in her speech how her Trump-supporting father challenged her to research the former president’s statements and policies outside the media lens. She took up his challenge and in doing so became a Trump fan.
“I realize Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, White, gay or straight, it’s all love. And that’s when it hit me, these are my people. This is where I belong,” she said in her speech.
CNN’s Van Jones warned that her address was likely the “most dangerous speech” for the Democratic Party, noting that Rose is appealing to people in liberal circles who may be frustrated with Democratic policies.
“That is a young woman of color. She’s describing the experience a lot of people have, feeling that maybe if you’re around too many liberals you might get criticized too much, or you might not be able to speak your mind,” he said. “And she spoke to it really well.”
Overall, Amber Rose’s speech at the Republican National Convention has sparked a heated debate and brought attention to issues of race and identity in politics.
