cover images Omarosa from Soul Sistah
Donald Trump by Owantana 
and BFFs by @Insyirah

“A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.” – Elbert Hubbard

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In 2004, the knockout first season of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice ushered in a new mean girl, by the name of Omarosa. While she began cultivating now famed persona from jump, it was the final episode, in which she demonstrated how low she would go. With absolutely no way to win – that particular game – and the only benefit being of goodwill from supporting a nice guy in Kwame Jackson; and without an iota of shame nor an ounce of remorse; on live television with millions watching, she would sabotage her own team, by spinning an absolute lie.¹ Hence, the exact moment, when Donald Trump discovered his star.

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from 2002… Cry Me A River
by Justin Timberlake

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Omarosa & Donald Trump:
If This Were A Different Story
by Kendall F. Person

If this were a different story, it would be about friendship, rather than a collision of the self-absorbed. If this were a reality show, the revelations would be expected, but nonetheless a tension-filled climatic season-ender. If these were the type of people, who served someone – anyone – outside themselves, then the nation’s attention would not be focused on tic for tac insults, that hail from the United States President and his former best friend. But the story within the story, is about two of the all time champs in  vindictiveness, backstabbing and grifting, living out their reality show, in the gaslighting of America.

If Trump were a different man, when Omarosa executed the ultimate betrayal to their 15 years long, mutually beneficial, platonic relationship, not only would she have been scorned by the nation, but a collective sympathy would have surrounded Trump for the sudden collapse of friendship. It was clear during the latter episodes of Season I of The Apprentice, that Trump had found his leading lady, by bringing her back on the show, long after she had been fired, for delivering the exact same performance, that we take witness to now.

It has been confirmed time and time again, when over the past 15 years – through the birther movement and the assault on humanity and the admission of sexual abuse in the infamous Hollywood Access tapes – she had never, ever uttered a negative word about him, proving both her allegiance and the fact, that he too was her best – if not only true friend. And if this were a normal story, the public meltdown of a friendship, would have touched our emotions and perhaps even broken our heart. But this is not a normal story. It is the story of Omarosa and Donald Trump. One boasts about hitting back even harder, and the other relishes, that she wanted to be like him.

If this were a normal story, my mother would have not been confused. “Well, I bet he will bring her back again.” In which I responded, “Mom, you are thinking about their television show, her firing from the White House, and everything transpiring now, is not the ‘reality’ of entertainment, but realism of life.” And so the gaslighting of America, has not only began to drown constituents outside of his base, but is being absorbed into the mundane, that at one time, would have been considered tabloid at best.

BFFs by Insyirah @tumblr

If he were an extraordinary President, our farmers and automobile dealers would not be under duress by tariffs and sanctions, in an economic battle, he has raged against the world. Our social standing both on the international stage and within our inner conscious, would not be full of arrows, representing hundreds of immigrant children, separated from their parents, who they may never see again. Our racial divide, would not have worsen to such a degree, that Nazis march proudly through city streets, and the word politician would not provoke divisions, akin to street gangs.

If she were only able to redefine herself, after accepting a top government post, her cries of racism and government abuse, would not be filled with clouds of doubt. And using the race card of all things, in this intense racial climate we find ourselves in, would not have been even her last resort, let alone her first card thrown. For 15 years she has supported the same man, that she now denotes as racist, only because it benefits her.

If this were a different story, it would have revealed the frailty of friendship, and Donrosa held up, as an American success: that neither race, creed, color or gender mattered, in how even the President chooses his closest friend. If this were not a tale of deceit or an attempted overthrow of the teacher, by a grasshopper no more, it would be an epic tragedy. For those of us who have lost them, yet somehow maintained the relevance, the reasons they were in our lives, know that best friends will always be there, unless the bridge was set ablaze. But nothing can be salvaged of Donrosa, the treachery is much too big. She with her library of secretly recorded tapes, and he with names like “She’s a dog!” have severed the lines of decency and respect, with the precision of a surgical blade.

If this were a normal story, the nation would not be caught up in a personal vendetta, between two people that deserve each other most. It would be a story about friendship and how it evolves, delivering lessons like no matter how they end, we should cherish the time spent and the value added while in. Yet, we the people of a civil society, that holds friendship in high regard, maintain the power to deliver a fairytale ending to our personal relationships, by simply dropping a line, “Thank you for being a part of my life.”  But if nothing else please take note, this is not our story, nor is it a normal one…. it is the story of Omarosa and Donald Trump. Donrosa has prepared for this moment, so allow them to throw and absorb their own punches. Here is where the wall should be built, to assure this aberration of friendship, does not become the story of us.

this is… The Neighborhood,
created by Kendall F. Person

The Neighborhood’s Video of the Month

Special Thanks to David P. Jones
recommend reading: Evolution of Friendship