President Donald Trump mused about hip-hop icon Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter on Sunday morning, asking if someone could inform him about the black unemployment rate.
“Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!,” the president wrote on Twitter.
Jay-Z was interviewed on Van Jones’ eponymous CNN program on Saturday night. Jones asked the rapper and business mogul whether Trump’s demeanor and actions, included his reported uses of “shithole” in reference to African countries, were important given the state of the economy.
“No, because it’s not about money at the end of the day,” Carter told Jones. “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.”
The president is correct in saying that black unemployment is at a record low. However, the decline began under former President Barack Obama and the rate continues to be higher than overall employment, a disparity that has endured for decades.
When asked about the reported shithole comment, which came in the context of a discussion of U.S immigration policy, Jay-Z said it was “really hurtful.”
