Trump just met with a group of black conservatives. He joked that some must be 'bad' ex-convicts.


After a quick comment about the arrest of a suspected mail bomber, President Trump swiftly moved on to making some highly questionable comments at a White House event.
During a speech to black conservatives on Friday, Trump bragged that the economy has improved so much that ex-convicts are able to get good jobs. "Incredible," he said of the newly-employed ex-convicts. But he then corrected himself to say that some of the ex-convicts aren't so incredible, and "even in this room, we probably have a couple of bad ones." The Young Black Leadership Summit crowd laughed as Trump continued to riff and ask, "Are there any bad ones? Right?"
The president also said that he thinks the African-American community appreciates these job opportunities for ex-convicts "maybe more than anything we've done," noting to himself that this is something he should bring up more often.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump went back and forth between using a teleprompter to speaking off-the-cuff during the speech, which was full of plenty of other strange remarks — like an aside expressing hope that it would one day be acceptable again to call people "beautiful" and "handsome" in public. Watch Trump's comments below. Brendan Morrow
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
5 jumbo-sized political cartoons about Qatar's 'gift' to Trump
Cartoons Editorial cartoons feature artists' takes on Donald Trump's visit to the Middle East.
-
Broccoli and cashew stir-fry recipe
The Week Recommends This nutty dish is a satisfying vegetarian option
-
The UK-US trade deal: what was agreed?
In Depth Keir Starmer's calm handling of Donald Trump paid off, but deal remains more of a 'damage limitation exercise' than 'an unbridled triumph'
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin