Months before his criminal trial began, former President Donald Trump appeared before black conservatives in South Carolina and made a direct appeal to African-American voters with a provocative: and, critics said, racist — theme: Just like you, I am unfairly persecuted by the criminal justice system.
It was just the beginning of a highly calculated effort by Trump to reduce President Joe Biden’s standing with an electorate that has historically been among the Democratic Party’s most reliable voting blocs.
Three Trump campaign officials outlined to POLITICO the former president’s strategy for appealing to Black voters during the trial and beyond, revealing an in-depth analysis of their game plan as they ramp up campaigning ahead of November.
According to Trump’s advisers, the former president and his campaign will use his legal troubles — and racial issues in New York more broadly — to appeal to black voters, suggesting that Trump, a 77-year-old white man from a family privileged and with a history of offensive rhetoric, is plagued by the same injustices that afflict black Americans.
He will make pitches aimed at black voters during campaign stops in and around the city, including in historically black neighborhoods like Harlem. And they say he will try to turn the city’s immigration crisis into a wedge issue to appeal to black voters embittered by local Democratic officials who have approved millions in resources to support newly arrived immigrants rather than their communities.
“The Biden administration has made a deliberate choice to put the interests of illegal immigrants ahead of the interests of the American people,” James Blair, political director for the Trump campaign, told POLITICO. “And black voters, like every other group of voters in America, are furious about it.”
Perhaps no politician in modern America has been able to deal as effectively with voters’ anxieties over race, ethnic rivalries and cultural grievances as Trump. In calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and criminals to say there was “guilt on both sides” after white supremacists and neo-Nazis engaged in violent protests in Charlottesville, the former president has consistently appealed to white, male and less educated voters on issues of ethnicity , often receiving widespread backlash from Democrats and his own party.
But in recent polls, he has made some inroads among black voters. And his campaign is now deliberately targeting them, in a more sophisticated approach than he demonstrated at the beginning of his political career, using his ongoing trial in New York as a stage.
Black men especially are a key constituency that his advisers consider accessible and that is eluding Biden. According to a Wall Street Journal survey this month, about 30% of black men in the seven key swing states said they would definitely or probably vote for Trump for president.
Dissatisfaction with Biden in this voting bloc stems from his handling of the economy and immigration. If those numbers hold, it would mark a nearly threefold increase in support among black men for Trump, who received just 12 percent of the vote from black men four years ago, according to AP VoteCast, a poll of voters conducted in election day and the day after. immediately preceding days.
The risks for Trump – and Biden – are enormous. Even a marginal improvement by Trump among black voters could change the result in closely contested states in November.
Trump has already begun employing this strategy. During a stop at a bodega in the heart of Harlem last week, the former president criticized Biden’s border policies as well as New York Democrats for allocating millions of dollars in rent and food assistance to people who only recently entered the country.
“They invaded and took over the parks, took over your hotels, took over everything, that’s not good,” said Trump, who also mentioned a New York City program established in January that provides US$53 million in prepaid debit cards to help tens of thousands of migrants in the city pay for temporary housing and food.
“And do you know what they did?” he said. “They destroyed so many people, the African-American community is now not getting jobs, migrants are taking their jobs who are here illegally.”
Trump’s rhetoric on the issue of immigration is especially potent. Tens of thousands of migrants, from Latin American countries and elsewhere, have been used as political pawns in recent years by conservative-leaning states. These migrants, many of them hoping to gain asylum, were bused or traveled to liberal-leaning cities like New York, Chicago, Boston and Washington, creating tension with black residents who feel marginalized and with elected leaders of color who govern these cities. cities.
During a controversial Chicago City Council meeting last summer, for example, a black councilwoman, Jeanette Taylor, burst into tears during a debate over whether to transfer $51 million in city funds to help migrants.
“I’m so tired that when it’s a crisis for everyone else, we say, ‘We need to do something.’ But when we have this violence in the black community, nothing is said or nothing is done,” Taylor said.
However, activists also labeled her a “sellout” and “traitor” when she voted to approve the transfer of funds.
Lynne Patton, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in an interview that the campaign would be “foolish not to take advantage of the fact that Trump is in the state of New York, in New York City, which has been disproportionately impacted by illegal immigration since Biden took office.”
Critics of the former president, however highlight reports that since Trump’s review of the Republican National Committee, minority-themed outreach centers that were launched under previous RNC leadership have closed. It’s proof, they say, that Trump’s attempts to connect with black voters are nothing more than a facade.
Blair laughed at these characterizations.
“Having an office is not indicative of disclosure,” Blair said. “They don’t want you to talk about the fact that 62% of black voters say immigration and border security are going in the wrong direction, and they want you to talk about office space.”
Trump officials admit they have to be strategic in how they position Trump, as the New York trial will drastically limit his ability to campaign. The only day the trial will not be held regularly is Wednesday, although Trump is normally free on weekends to raise funds and hold events. On Saturday, he will hold a rally in North Carolina.
However, Trump’s attempts to reach black voters can sometimes seem manufactured or clumsy. Earlier this year, the former president released a Trump sneaker, which a Fox News pundit hailed as “Connecting with Black America.” More recently, the former president’s campaign tried to create a viral moment on social media in April, when Trump visited a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta and was greeted by black fast food workers. Videos posted online showed a supporter, a black woman named Michaelah Montgomery, telling him, “I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you,” before walking up to him and giving him a hug. .
Chick-fil-A is located on the way from the airport to the Fulton County jail, where the former president took his infamous mug shot in a criminal case in Georgia, where he is accused of engaging in a scheme to subvert that state’s 2020 elections.
Some black conservatives in Georgia, however, criticized Trump’s visit as encouragement rather than authentic community outreach. Black conservative radio talk show host Sonnie Johnson called it a “photo opportunity” on social media, while Felecia Killings, who runs a conservative think tank specializing in black outreach in Atlanta, derided it as trite.
“This is not a serious time right now for Trump and black outreach,” she said in an interview.
Trump world, however, takes this very seriously. Last week, Donald Trump Jr. sat down for a wide-ranging interview with hip hop podcaster and internet personality DJ Akademiks, where the former president’s son praised how his father would help Black Americans if elected in November. He also compared the search by federal agents in Mar-a-Lago to the recent raids on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles, pointing out that both were “bullshit.”
“I’m not saying our judicial system has always been fair,” he continued. “If they can do that to Trump… who wants to do that?”
It was similar to Trump’s message to black Republicans in South Carolina last February, where he sought to connect with the public by highlighting his own problems with the criminal justice system.
“Our message to the black community in this election will be very simple,” Trump said. “If you want strong borders, safe neighborhoods, rising wages, good jobs, good education and the return of the American dream, then congratulations, you are a Republican.”
This story originally appeared on Politico.com read the full story
