Joy Reid Claims White People Cannot Invent Anything

Joy Reid and Wajahat Ali sparked controversy during a podcast episode titled "How Mediocre White Men and Their Fragility Are Destroying America," where they argued that white people have not originally invented anything but instead appropriate the achievements of Black and Brown people. Reid claimed that white culture lacks originality, citing music genres like country, hip hop, R&B, jazz, and rock and roll as Black cultural contributions, and criticized figures such as President Donald Trump and Elvis Presley as examples of "mediocre White men" who steal or counterfeit achievements. They also linked the lack of Black and Brown influence to a decline in cultural quality and accused white conservatives of lacking intellectual rigor. The discussion included critiques of Trump's reform of the Kennedy Center and his review of Smithsonian exhibits, which Reid and Ali viewed as efforts to suppress diverse cultural contributions. While Reid and Ali focused largely on cultural and musical contributions, critics note many significant inventions and political ideas originating from European heritage. These remarks have fueled debates around race, culture, and intellectual contributions in America.