Black Bishop Blows Dog Whistle for Trump

Happy Labor Day, Friends,

Much of this presidential campaign has been about 'dog whistle' politics--sending silent messages of encouragement to sometimes distasteful blocs of constituents.

In Donald Trump's case, it's been white supremacists--who embrace him--and specifically the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke, who is trying to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican from Louisiana.

Of course, Trump has denied any courting of this bunch, no matter how much they publicly adore him.

But some of the campaign's dog whistles have been loud and clear--from its anti-Semitic tweet of a Star of David laid over hundred dollar bills and adjacent to an unflattering headshot of Hillary Clinton, to Trump's hiring of Breitbart News' Alt Right guru Steve Bannon as his campaign's executive director.

Well, unbeknownst to Donald Trump, and to apparently all of the media of which many happen to be Jewish, he was hoodwinked into sending another kind of dog whistle that was audible even to us poor-hearing humans.

The Bishop Wayne T. Jackson ceremoniously gave The Donald two gifts Saturday after the candidate delivered his speech extending an olive branch to the African American community.

One was a bible commonly used by Messianic Jews, or Jews who believe in Jesus Christ but who also maintain their Jewish identities. The other was what the Bishop described as a prayer shawl directly from Israel.

Here it is, Friends: the same exact "prayer shawl" that Bishop Jackson gave to Donald
Trump. These Orthodox Jews only put these on at special times. One is when they're praying
that Donald Trump won't be President.  

What no one in the media fully pointed out is that this was not just a prayer shawl. It was a Jewish tallit, which is quite different. It is an extremely special and sacred accoutrerment of the Jewish religion, only worn during certain rituals and at specific times of the day.

By not only unwrapping it but laying the tallit on Trump, Bishop Jackson sent a loud and clear dog whistle to the white supremacists, "He's ours now. He belongs to people of faith, and especially the Jews. So, get lost."

Sadly, the media seems to have intentionally come up short on the details of Bishop Jackson's gift. Virtually no one seems to have gotten the Bishop's message...yet.

After this post on a slow news national holiday, I think you'll be hearing a lot more about it.

Rabbi Greg Kanter of Charleston, S.C., this one's for you.