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What You Need to Know About Steve Harvey’s Meeting With Trump

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FSU chapter.

Comedian Steve Harvey recent meeting with president elect Donald Trump came with severe backlash. Many of the Family Feud host fans were really upset with him for referring to Trump as “a good man.” After Trump’s critique of Congressmen John Lewis, many people’s opinion of him differed from Steve Harvey, by noting  said comments about the Congressmen who fought in the Civil Rights movement along side Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rapper T.I, who has appeared on Steve Harvey’s talkshow, Steve Harvey, many times took to Instagram to express his frustration with Steve Harvey and other celebrities who met with Donald Trump. T.I captioned his videos as “Attn.!!!! Be clear…. There IS an agenda behind all these meetings,” T.I. titled the first caption where he doesn’t mention any names. “I shall explain in detail. Be aware. Be alert. Or Be Bamboozled!!!” He went on to explain how rapper Kanye West and Steve Harvey are playing into Donald Trump’s “hidden agenda.”

Many of Steve Harvey’s fans took to social media to voice their anger towards the comedic-host. One woman (@webgoddes1) tweeted: Have to say how disappointed in ‪@IAmSteveHarvey! You have just lost a fan. ‪#SellOutToTrump Boycotting all of your shows! Hope others do too. 

Courtesy: Yahoo Images

Harvey met with reporters to discuss his meeting with the president elect. The president elect agreed to Harvey working along side HUD secretary nominee, Ben Carson, on housing and inner city issues. “We are going to team up and see if we can bring about some positive change in the inner cities,” Harvey told reporters, after appearing briefly with Trump after the meeting in the Trump tower lobby. “He agreed and he wants to do something.”

Harvey who has endorsed Hillary Clinton the entire election had nothing but nice things to say about the president elect. Quickly after the meeting came the backlash. The host noted in a statement posted to twitter. “The transition teams on both sides asked me to meet and I’m glad I did.” While he tried explaining his reasons for meeting with Trump he explained how hurt he was on his morning radio show. The host said, “On a personal note, a lot of ya’ll hurt me, you really did. I didn’t expect the backlash to be so fierce.” He continued, “The only way we can heal the divide in this country is through conversation.”

The backlash Harvey is facing is a result of racial tension caused by the 2016 presidential election. Where Trump can be quoted asking Black Americans, “What do you have to lose?” at a campaign rally back in 2016. Trump who received less than 1% of votes from African American voters were outraged by his landslide win against democrat candidate Hillary Clinton. Many African American celebrities like Steve Harvey who have endorsed Hillary Clinton, have decided to give the president elect a chance something that they’re being ridiculed about. While many people criticized Harvey his wife praised him for making a bold decision, meeting with the president elect. She posted a picture of them on Instagram and captioned it: “Thank you my love for stepping outside of your comfort zone to do what is right for others…. Even in the face of adversity! Doing the right thing sometimes isn’t popular….. but it’s ok…… You always make me proud! I love you.”

Her Campus at Florida State University.