MSNBC political analyst Basil Smikle found a way to make sweeping federal government cuts all about race, because apparently, everything is.

During a segment on Deadline: White House, Smikle reacted to President Donald Trump’s planned reductions to the federal workforce, a move recommended by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Instead of engaging in a discussion about fiscal responsibility or government bloat, Smikle claimed these cuts were actually an attack on a government “that used to be headed by a black man” and “almost elected a black woman.”

According to Smikle, these cuts are not just about reducing government waste but are actually a “hostile takeover” targeting minorities and immigrants. Forget the fact that government spending has ballooned out of control, or that these cuts are part of a broader restructuring—what really matters, according to Smikle, is that Trump is undoing the legacy of Barack Obama and Kamala Harris.

“It’s an attack on this government that used to be headed by a black man,” Smikle insisted. “It’s an attack on this government that almost elected a black woman to the highest office in the land.”

To the casual observer, this might sound like a stretch. But to MSNBC, it’s just another day at the office—where everything, no matter how unrelated, is somehow evidence of racial oppression.

In an attempt to further dramatize the situation, Smikle lamented the loss of career paths for young people interested in public service, claiming Trump was “destroying an entire pipeline of workers”. Because, as everyone knows, young people are entitled to taxpayer-funded jobs in bloated bureaucracies, and cutting inefficiencies is now a civil rights violation.

At no point did Smikle address why the government should be so massive in the first place or whether these cuts might actually benefit the economy. Instead, the message was clear: if Trump does something, it must be racist, oppressive, and hostile—even if it has absolutely nothing to do with race.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)