Almost 152 years ago, the first national commemoration of Memorial Day was held in Arlington National Cemetery to honor the lives lost in the Civil War. Last Friday, former Vice President Joe Biden shocked the nation by proclaiming, "Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black," in an interview with Charlamagne tha God during “The Breakfast Club.” To diminish African Americans’ right to vote during a holiday weekend originally intended to honor Civil War soldiers is true irony.

Despite former Vice President Biden’s claim, however, President Donald Trump should be applauded for his success in helping all Americans, particularly minorities.

During the Trump Administration, minorities have benefited greatly from President Trump’s low taxes and free market policies. In fact, before the coronavirus, the African American unemployment rate hit the lowest level on record, and series lows for Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians and other historically disadvantaged groups had been matched or achieved. Further, wage growth for these groups was higher during this administration than the previous administration, and the net worth held by the bottom 50 percent of households increased more than three times the rate of increase for the top 1 percent. Finally, poverty rates for African Americans and Hispanic Americans were at record lows.

In addition, President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act into law on December 21, 2018. This was a successful bipartisan effort to reform the criminal justice system. The law helps prisoners by allowing them to be placed in prerelease custody early if they complete recidivism reduction programming and productive activities. Further, the First Step Act reduced mandatory minimum prison sentences for some nonviolent drug offenders. Among other provisions, the legislation also reauthorizes appropriations for grant programs that help prisoners reenter the workforce.

Another issue that President Trump is promoting that will help minorities is occupational licensing reform. This year, the White House released “The President’s Principles on Workforce Freedom and Mobility.” Principle 1 says, “States and territories should eliminate unnecessary occupational licensing regulations.” Occupational licensing hurts all Americans, particularly the poor, because it reduces job opportunities and raises costs for consumers. However, it has an even greater effect on minorities. The Mercatus Center, for example, has reported that black or Hispanic interior decorators are 30 percent less likely to have a college degree. Yet, some states have licensing requirements for interior designers that include a college degree.

These are just a few of the policies of President Trump that help minorities. In contrast, former Vice President Joe Biden’s policies would hurt minorities.

Take, for example, his position on school choice: “And so the point is, if I'm President, Betsy DeVos's whole notion, from charter schools to this, are gone." School choice, however, helps minorities. A Stanford University study found that black students in poverty who attended charter schools gained 59 days of math and 44 days of reading. Minorities also use school choice programs more. For example, around 70 percent of the students who use the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship are minorities. About 70 percent of charter school students in 2017 were minorities. In addition to school choice, his ideas to raise taxes and increase regulation will further hurt minorities by reducing the number of jobs available and decreasing salaries.

What Joe Biden also doesn’t seem to understand though is that all Americans, including blacks, have a choice of who to vote for in November. That’s a right Americans have fought for in Congress and died for on a battlefield, and it’s a right worth celebrating on Memorial Day.

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