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Sisters Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson grew up in a religious and entrepreneurial family in rural North Carolina. While never politically active, the sisters always voted for Democrats by default – until they watched Donald Trump ride down the escalator at Trump Tower in June 2015 to announce his candidacy. Soon thereafter, they formed the performance duo Diamond and Silk, which goes after liberalism, defends President Donald Trump, and takes political correctness to task.
The duo made the latest stop on its Chit Chat Tour Saturday in Myrtle Beach. Diamond (Lynette) opened the show with her trademark comedic timing, asking, “Any Fake News in the house?” She told the group of hundreds in a sold out hotel ballroom, “Just because you’re black doesn’t mean you have to vote Democrat. We left the plantation!”
The sisters made their mark in 2015 sharing YouTube videos aimed at liberal policies and political correctness. As their popularity on social media grew, Diamond and Silk became frequent guests on Fox News programs and got candidate Trump’s attention. His staff invited them to attend a December 2015 campaign rally in Raleigh as VIP guests. Much to their surprise, Trump invited them onstage. They garnered a standing ovation in their first performance in front of a large crowd.
During their Myrtle Beach performance, Diamond and Silk defended traditional American values and ridiculed all of the Democrat standard bearers and the policies they support. She took aim at Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris.
Another subject of their ire was the social media giants, which have resorted to “shadow-banning” to prevent conservative views from being seen. Diamond and Silk has millions of followers on the Facebook, Twitter and YouTube platforms, which have all devised algorithms to restrict followers from viewing content they deem “unsafe to the community.” Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) invited them to testify before a House committee about shadow-banning, and they were treated with hostility by Congressional Black Caucus members Sheila Jackson Lee and Hank Johnson, who scolded them for making money off of their social media platforms, just as thousands of liberals do.
photographer Gene Ho
Diamond and Silk contend that President Trump enjoys much higher support than media polls suggest, particularly among blacks. Diamond said, “President Trump has supporters that you see and those you don’t see.” She said she often meets blacks at airports who tap her on the shoulder and whisper that they support the President. She sited a recent poll showing Trump’s 36% approval rating among blacks. Google and other search engines make it difficult for positive polling information on Trump to be found.
The crowd is getting excited waiting on Diamond and Silk
While taking questions from the Myrtle Beach audience, Diamond and Silk brought a young black woman on-stage who was concerned about being denigrated by family and friends for being conservative and a Trump supporter. They advised her that she can’t win everyone over. Diamond told her, “Some people just hear the negative soundbites (about Trump) and believe them.” She encouraged the young lady to “keep shining your light and continue to educate!”
