Trump has regularly highlighted cases of undocumented migrants committing violent crimes.
Former President Donald Trump told evangelical voters they needed to increase their voter turnout as he sought, at two campaign events Saturday, to strengthen — and expand — his base.
Trump spoke Saturday afternoon at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, a gathering of evangelical conservatives who have provided a base of support for his three presidential bids. Later, the presumptive Republican president held a rally in North Philadelphia as part of his effort to make inroads with black voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
Trump told his supporters that to defeat President Joe Biden he needed them to “put up the biggest numbers ever.”
“Evangelicals and Christians don’t vote as much as they should, I don’t know if you know that,” Trump said. “They go to church every Sunday, but they don’t vote.”
Trump continued to complain that gun rights activists also did not vote in sufficient numbers and said ballot boxes should be placed inside churches.
“You have to leave, just this once,” Trump continued. “I don’t care in four years – you don’t have to vote, okay? In four years, don’t vote, I don’t care.”
Trump was given a hero’s welcome by the organization, founded by conservative activist Ralph Reed, despite a presidency during which he took little action on many of the group’s top priorities, from combating same-sex marriage to ending the legalization of medical marijuana.
Still, Trump’s push to nominate Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade—along with his embrace of culture war clashes—cemented his appeal to evangelicals and his position as leader of the Republican Party.
Trump’s occasionally reprimanding effort to convert enthusiasm at the Washington event into votes at the polls underscored the extent to which his hopes for a second term depend on the motivation of dedicated supporters. Polls show a large number of moderate swing voters disappointed with both candidates and considering third-party options or reluctant to vote.
“I think it’s a kind of protest. You are so angry about what is happening,” Trump said. “Do you know the power you would have if you voted?”
While Trump’s political operation focuses on turning over dedicated conservatives, he also seeks to appeal to Black and Latino voters — who have traditionally supported Democratic presidential candidates — but who have felt the brunt of post-pandemic inflation. Trump’s rally at Temple University in Philadelphia came just days after a visit to a black church in Detroit.
“We will also work to strengthen Black, Hispanic and other communities in Philadelphia and across the United States,” Trump said.
Polls show Biden’s standing among minority voters has declined, possibly providing an opening for Trump and Republicans hoping to win enough support to win battleground states.
Trump’s efforts have been complicated by his frequent descriptions of cities with large black populations as crime-ridden and failed, as he did last week when discussing Milwaukee, which will host the Republican National Convention, with Republican lawmakers.
In Philadelphia, Trump lamented that “convenience stores are closing left and right” and described statistics showing the city’s substantial drop in the homicide rate as “fake news.” In April, homicides in Philadelphia fell by more than a third compared to the previous year.
Trump also showed his penchant for controversy at both stages, telling attendees that he had introduced Dana White, head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, at an event that would pit his league’s champion against a competing “league of migrant fighters.”
Trump has regularly highlighted cases of undocumented migrants committing violent crimes and warned that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country”, while critics – including Biden – argue that the rhetoric is racially coded.
“I think the migrant can win,” Trump said. “They’re tough like that. He didn’t really like that idea, but it actually wasn’t the worst idea I’ve ever had.”
Biden won Pennsylvania in 2020, and his hopes of winning the state in a November rematch with Trump will depend in part on his ability to attract black voters and keep working-class voters in the state. A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll from May found Trump leading Biden 48% to 46% in Pennsylvania.
The state has become a focal point for his re-election bid. According to an internal memo from Trump-allied super-PAC Make America Great Again Inc., the group has and will continue to focus its efforts and funding across Pennsylvania.
More broadly, Biden has also struggled to include workers, important in states like Michigan, in his economic agenda.
Trump has intensified his campaign after becoming the first former president convicted of a crime at his trial in New York. He was also able to use the conviction to increase his war budget, with the campaign raising $141 million in May, surpassing the $85 million Biden raised that month.
Trump’s visit to Washington on Saturday is his second this month. Last week, he returned to the Capitol for the first time since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters seeking to block the certification of the 2020 election, meeting with House and Senate Republicans.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
