It was love at first eye-roll with Angela Rye
Angela Rye has been a refreshingly bright and comedic staple during this year’s bizarre, and often times juvenile, presidential campaign.
It was love at first eye-roll with Angela Rye.
Since unleashing the universal facial expression for “you gettin’ on my damn nerves” back in July, the liberal political commentator has been a refreshingly bright and comedic staple during this year’s bizarre, and often times juvenile, presidential campaign. Most people can barely endure Donald Trump sniffle his way through the debates, let alone go toe-to-toe with his aggressive supporters. Rye, however, has recently made a viral career out of sparring with some of the most illogical, highly opinionated folks from the Trump camp with all the unapologetic attitude and fearlessness of a black hero.
First off, if you’re not familiar with the self-proclaimed political nerd, do your homework. Her service to legislation and on political boards is extensive, so she’s armed with the education and real-life experience to fight on an intellectual level. And as the black community’s unofficial defender, the Congressional Black Caucus member directly addresses all the lies surrounding “ghettos,” tax returns and President Obama pouring from the Republican party.
–CNN’s Angela Rye goes off on Trump supporter: ‘This is f’n ridiculous’–
Last week, Rye took Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson to task when Pierson echoed Trump’s narrative that black communities are suffering a bleak economy and “horrible, horrible” problems. When Pierson’s discussion turned to a personal attack of Rye’s work as the former executive director of the CBC, Rye clapped back with shady side-eyes and downright laughing off the slight while dropping hashtag facts. Just a snippet of her masterful brush-offs?
“Good luck with that lie as well,” she quipped.
Prior to that, Rye fired shots at Trump’s economic advisor Stephen Moore after he so idiotically asked her if black Americans were doing well. It took a nanosecond for Rye to toss back a “Hello! Exhibit A, honey,” while pointing to herself and serving “I woke up like this” sass. It was the equivalent of a Kenya Moore twirl on her haters and, per usual, Black Twitter rejoiced.
Most popularly, she made Beyoncé proud when she hurled a “Boy, bye!” at Trump’s former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski when he came for POTUS about releasing his Harvard transcripts.
Look, it’s not as though Black America doesn’t have its fair share of issues, Rye simply refuses to let Trump’s camp use African Americans as a tool to get a bigot and well-reported harasser elected into office.
Plus, don’t come for Barack unless he sent for you.
Not only has Rye’s off-the-cuff digs and cultural volleying made her an unforgettable part of the election coverage, but also her audaciousness in the face of folks who’d rather a black woman remain silent on matters that affect her and her community. Rye doesn’t cower or falter. She’s articulate and, from where I’m sitting, pretty damn on point. As shown consistently on national TV and the clips streaming down Twitter timelines, she boldly retorts at senseless rhetoric from across the aisle. And because she does it so brilliantly, it nearly shatters the Angry Black Woman trope. Who gon’ check her when she has nothing but receipts, boo?
While we’re all at home groaning and screaming at our TVs, she’s shoulder-to-shoulder with these folks carrying our opinions and our side-eyes to the front lines. And in case you haven’t watched her in action, trust me, it’s a sight to be seen.
All in all, Rye is that brand of Black Girl Magic we can trust. She’s heralded as our real-life Misty Knight because of her pop culture youthfulness, her dedication to fight against the ridiculous notion that all black folks are poor and uneducated (needing to be saved by the Great White Trump) and her ability to bridge a gap between government illiterate Millennials and need-to-know politics. She easily makes you want to sit through a few rounds of CNN and join the conversation. Hell, most importantly, it makes you want to vote.
With only seven days left to make an impact in this election, no matter which ways things go, Rye has been––and will continue to be––an outstanding superwoman for communities of color, especially the young, gifted and black.
