Donald Trump has spent decades attacking Black people and businesses. The federal government sued him for refusing to rent to Black tenants. He ran a full-page ad calling for the execution of the Central Park Five.
And as president, he has dismantled the tools that help Black businesses survive. He has cut programs designed to help Black entrepreneurs get ahead, slashed resources at the Small Business Administration and blocked it from considering race as a factor in awarding contracts, and is trying to eliminate the Minority Business Development Agency. All of this strips access to capital, contracts, and technical support from businesses that are already locked out of the system.
He’s also laid off tens of thousands of federal workers, targeting DEI staff, probationary employees, and foreign aid officials. These cuts are hitting Black workers the hardest, especially at agencies like HUD and the Department of Education, which employ a high share of Black staff and provide critical services to our communities.
Most offensive? While he tears down opportunity for people like us, Trump has used the powers of the presidency blatantly to reward his friends. Here in New York, that’s the well-heeled owners and execs for the New York Yankees.
Here’s what happened: the YES Network, which is majority-owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, was in a commercial dispute over where and how its content would be carried. Rather than working it out through negotiation, YES leadership called in a favor from Donald Trump.
Yankees President Randy Levine, a longtime Trump ally, successfully used his relationship to have the federal government intervene in a private business dispute. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr issued a thinly veiled threat to Comcast, echoing YES Network talking points. Soon after, Levine issued a statement thanking Carr and Trump for stepping in. This was not a miscommunication. It was an admission that political muscle had replaced negotiation.
Levine and Trump’s relationship goes way back. Levine was floated as a possible chief of staff in Trump’s first term. Trump recently appointed Levine’s wife, Mindy, to the Kennedy Center Board. And the Trump-Steinbrenner alliance is even older. George Steinbrenner and Donald Trump were part of the same New York power circles for decades, sharing fundraisers, lawyers, and PR machines.
So it’s no surprise that when YES Network didn’t get what it wanted from the market, it turned to Trump for help. Worst of all, the deal that was pushed through isn’t just unfair, it hurts regular people by forcing them to subsidize YES Network broadcasts – whether they watch the Yankees or not.
At the New York Black Chamber of Commerce, we represent more than 2,000 Black and Brown-owned businesses. None of our members can call the president to help close a contract deal. We don’t get political favors or federal appointees going to bat for us.
That’s what makes this so offensive. Trump is using the levers of government to reward his inner circle while destroying the infrastructure that helps our businesses survive. He is eliminating pathways for Black entrepreneurs and replacing them with backroom deals for rich friends.
And too many local leaders are letting it slide. In fact, many prominent New York Democrats praised the YES deal. Whether they know it or not, they are giving political cover to Trump’s FCC, which is being used as a tool to reward loyalty and punish resistance.
This city is about hustle, not handouts. When the federal government intervenes to benefit the powerful at the expense of everyday New Yorkers, it puts all of that at risk.
If the Yankees want to claim they represent New York, they should act like it. That means solving their problems honestly, not leaning on a president whose policies have hurt Black workers and businesses. And it means respecting the rules that the rest of us are held to every day.
Because when Trump helps his allies win, it is always someone else who loses. This time, it is Black businesses and New York families. It is everyone trying to build something the right way. New Yorkers deserve better. And we’re not afraid to say so.
Tosha Miller is president of The New York City Black Chamber of Commerce.
