Trump Continues Effort To Win Black Votes Ahead Of Detroit Visit

Can Trump turn around his abysmal level of support from African Americans?

Jake Neher/WDET

Right now, polling suggests Donald Trump is getting two percent of the black vote nationally.

As of July, zero percent of black voters said they planned to vote for Trump in the crucial swing states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. That was according to a NBC News-Wall Street Journal-Marist poll.

Yet, the last time he was in Michigan, he predicted he could win 95 percent of black voters by the time he’d be up for reelection in 2020. His pitch to African Americans — “What do you have to lose?”

He says the Democratic Party has done little-or-nothing for black people.

Michigan Chronicle Senior Editor Keith Owens joins Detroit Today to talk about Trump’s appeal to African American voters, as does Shane Goldmacher, senior political reporter with Politico.

“He’s done a number of things throughout his life before he even considered politics that pretty much said what he was all about,” says Owens. “Now, suddenly, he wants to reach out and say that Democrats haven’t done anything for you and I’m the guy for you, it’s ridiculous.”

Goldmacher says Trump’s pitch to black voters isn’t just about winning those votes.

“Very much, this pitch is about white voters,” he says. “Donald Trump has run into a huge problem in recent weeks, which is a huge chunk of the electorate thinks he’s a racist.”

To hear the full conversation, click on the audio link above.

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  • Detroit Today
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