Kentucky Woman Says Under Trump, She Can Use the N-Word
After being confronted at a laundromat for using the slur, she told a Black woman she’s “protected” now that Donald Trump is president — and then called the police.
A white woman in Boone County, Kentucky, has sparked online outrage after a video surfaced of her using the N-word during a heated confrontation with a Black woman at a local laundromat. The video, initially shared on TikTok and later reported by ATL Black Star, shows the woman hurling the slur repeatedly, and refusing to back down even as she’s being filmed.
The Black woman filming the video, which now has 10,000 likes, wasted no time calling out the woman. “You’re a racist b—h,” she said, as the woman exits the storefront with a basket of clothes.
“I’m glad I got you on camera…she said the n-word,” she added.
“You’re right, I did,” the unidentified white woman admitted. “If you act like one, you are one,” she shot back, adding, “Trump’s in now, remember? We’re protected a little better.”
A third unidentified person who was off-camera was heard saying, “That’s an absurd statement. Everyone here is a legal citizen,” to which the white woman replied: “Maybe, but not a working citizen…I can tell.”
She then appears to call the police, telling dispatch that “there is a Black lady who followed me to my car.” However, the woman filming yelled out so police could hear her in the background: “No, she’s being racist. I got the video! Ain’t nobody following her. This is a public parking lot.”
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office has not yet released a public statement on the matter, but the video has reignited conversations about how racism is emboldened in the Trump era.
Racism, Rhetoric, and the Trump Effect in the South
While racial slurs and anti-Black policing aren’t new to the American script, what makes this incident stand out is the explicit invocation of political power to justify bigotry. By linking her perceived “right” to use the N-word to Donald Trump’s presidency, the woman is practicing what scholars describe as racial entitlement politics — where white grievance is reframed as free speech.
Multiple studies show that racially motivated incidents surged during Trump’s time in office, with the FBI reporting a record increase in hate crimes targeting Black Americans from 2016 to 2020. A Stanford and UC San Diego study also found that counties hosting Trump rallies experienced over twice the rate of hate crimes as those that did not. The Anti-Defamation League further documented record-breaking levels of white supremacist propaganda in 2020, often tied to Trump-era slogans like “Make America Great Again.”
And while this behavior surfaced nationwide, the South remains a distinct backdrop for these encounters — steeped in a legacy where whiteness, law enforcement, and cultural control intersect. In places like Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, Confederate memory, evangelical nationalism, and racially motivated policymaking continue to shape public life. Whether it's DEI bans, voter suppression laws, or the targeting of Black history curricula, the South remains a battleground for how race and power are policed.
Incidents like this echo the viral encounters of “BBQ Becky” and “Permit Patty,” where white women called police on Black people for simply existing in public. But unlike those cases, this woman did not even hide behind fear — she stood firm in her belief that Trump’s return to power gave her license to be openly racist.
Has Anything Really Changed?
At its core, this encounter speaks to where racism ends and where political power begins — or whether they’ve ever been separate at all. The Boone County video is part of a long legacy of racial aggression often played out in public spaces, but the invocation of Trump as protection is both bold and interesting.
Is Trump’s return to power simply reigniting old flames — or revealing just how many never went out? Are these incidents on the rise, or is it merely the latest painful reminder that racism never left — it just evolves with the times and the politics that shape them?
13 & South is a new publication covering news, investigative stories, and insights on social justice, policy, and systemic inequities impacting Southern Black communities. I value your insights and feedback, and invite your perspectives to contribute to future issues. Please email me at editor@13thandsouth.com. Also, feel free to connect with me on my socials! LinkedIn, Twitter, IG, BlueSky, and Threads.
Seems to me that public statements invoking slurs and epithets are threats, not just against the person but against the group or population. Threats are threats, not protected speech. Certainly the police hold us to that standard with regard to the Black Lives Matter movement. Something tells me a different standard will be applied where a white suprematist is involved. Funny how that works here in the US.
That racist piece of excrement needs to be found out.
But she’ll say she’s afraid for her safety and then she’ll be getting big money from the other racists like her.