Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter recently appeared on CNN’s “The Van Jones Show.” While on the show, he addressed President Donald Trump’s “sh**hole countries” comment, among other things, stating that this highlights the bigger issue of racism in the United States.

Carter went on to piggyback off of Donald Sterling’s situation from 2014, where his racist comments forced Sterling to sell his Los Angeles Clippers franchise. While Carter did not disagree with the course of action that was taken, he offered a different option. An option where the NBA let him keep his team with sanctions so long as they opened a conversation about racism. Carter suggested that the actions that were taken against allow for “closet racists [to] just run back in the hole.”

That is where the root of the problem lies. Dialogue is rarely carried out with those who need to hear it, instead, they choose when, how and with whom to discuss issues with, if at all.

This was all the more prevalent when President Trump decided to go after Carter on Twitter by stating “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE EVER RECORDED!”

It seems that Trump completely ignored the fact that Jones had already asked Carter about black unemployment being the lowest it’s been since Trump has been in office, to which Carter responded by saying the issue was bigger than money; that it lies simply with treating other people like human beings.

Before him was an opportunity for Trump to address the bigger issue of racism in the country, but he didn’t. Instead, going out of his way, it seems, to justify what “good” he has done for the black community and saying so to a prominent black figure in America.

All the while, Trump kept quiet when Marshall Mathers, AKA Eminem, dedicated an entire BET Cypher to throwing Trump under the bus and even drawing a line in the sand between his fans and Trump supporters. “You’re either for or against,” he told his listeners, even going as far as blatantly saying “we hate Trump.”

Eminem, being a white rapper who has historically had a large white audience, gave Trump a prime opportunity to discuss race issues with a large population by saying what he said. Trump not only refused to address these issues, however, he also refused to even address that Eminem had attacked him. He didn’t release a single tweet.

But why?

Typically I’m one to steer away from assumptions, but the main, if not only, difference between the people Trump responds to and Eminem is the color of their skin.

No matter how incompetent a lot of people may suggest Trump is, he did manage to work his way into the White House and I have every reason to believe he is calculated in who he responds to, especially those who speak even one word of opposition towards him.

Eminem has a large white audience. Eminem very clearly said he wants nothing to do with Trump supporters. Eminem even finished his Cypher with a direct profane comment at Trump.

Jay-Z didn’t attack Trump. Instead, Jay-Z took the high road and offered options for creating conversation and treating minorities better.

Yet, he went after Jay-Z.