My dear Friend and President, DJT,
It's back to work. At least it's a beautiful day as we launch into the intense time when we close out the fall quarter. Folks on campus will be more stressed than usual due to the backlog caused by the campus closing. The stress will be offset by the relief of having life get back to normal. You've got a lot on your plate with a spending bill, farm authorization and prison reform act to pass in the next few weeks. I guess that's normal for you.
I see that you are heading down to Gulfport, MS today. My uncle, the writer, used to live near there in Bay St. Louis. When you drive into MS from LA on I-10, you'll be on the stretch of road named after him.
While in MS today, I'm sure you'll be trying to drum up votes for Cindy Hyde-Smith. While I was ok with her filling in for Senator Thad Cochran in March, since then her past has come to light and I'm not impressed. I'm afraid that she's been so steeped in racist customs that it never occurred to her to question them. Sadly, she has not demonstrated any evidence that she understands the profound harm caused by white supremacy. Apologizing for "anything she might have said that's offensive" is radically different from saying White Southerners had it wrong back in the day and I am going to do all I can to repair the harm caused by slavery and the lingering racism that goes with it. Having been educated at an intentionally segregated private high school did not prepare her for that kind of statement. She may be a nice lady who is eager to please, but I'd prefer Mike Espy. I don't think that your round table today discussing prison-reform in Gulfport will be enough to convince swing voters that you all are looking out for the interests of black folk.
The chaos at the Mexican border continues to disturb me. I hope you can ameliorate it somehow. Children being teargassed is not a pretty sight. Closing the border is not the answer.
RCA