Provocatively appealing to African American voters with the provocative—and, opponents argued, racist—theme: “Like you, I’m unfairly persecuted by the criminal justice system,” former president Trump told a gathering of Black conservatives in South Carolina months before his criminal trial began.
It was the first step in Trump’s cunning plan to damage President Joe Biden’s reputation among a group that has consistently voted Democratic.
As the campaign heats up for November, three Trump campaign officials gave HEADLINESFOREVER an inside peek at the former president’s strategy to appeal to Black voters during and after the trial.
Advisors to Trump claim that the 77-year-old white man from a privileged background who has a history of offensive statements will appeal to Black voters by highlighting the racial injustices that Black Americans face, in relation to his legal troubles and broader racial issues in New York.
During campaign-style trips across the city, he would specifically target minority voters, making specific appeals in places like Harlem and other traditionally Black communities. Rumor has it that he plans to use the city’s migrant crisis as a political wedge issue in an effort to win over Black voters who are angry with the local Democratic politicians for allocating millions of dollars to help immigrants rather than to help their areas.
According to James Blair, the political director for the Trump campaign, illegal immigrants’ interests have been prioritized by the Biden administration, as reported by HEADLINESFOREVER. “And this has infuriated Black voters equally as much as any other group of voters in the United States.”
Trump may have been the most successful politician in recent American history at capitalizing on voters’ fears about racial tensions, ethnic conflicts, and cultural grievances. His repeated appeals to white, male, and less educated base voters on ethnicity—from labeling Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and criminals to stating that there was “blame on both sides” following the violent protests in Charlottesville—have frequently drawn strong criticism from Democrats and even his own party.
However, he has shown improvement in recent surveys among Black voters. Using his current trial in New York as a springboard, his campaign is now purposefully pursuing them with a more nuanced strategy than he demonstrated early in his political career.
Among his most important constituents, his advisors see Black men in particular as winnable and defecting from Biden. Some 30% of Black males in the seven crucial swing states indicated they would certainly or probably vote for Trump for president, according to a poll published in this month’s Wall Street Journal.
This group of voters is unhappy with Biden because of his policies on immigration and the economy. According to AP VoteCast, a poll of voters performed on Election Day and the days immediately preceding it, if those percentages continue, it would indicate that Trump’s support among Black men has nearly tripled since he garnered only 12% of the vote from Black men four years ago.
Trump and Biden are playing with huge stakes. In November, states with tight races may be decided by just a little margin if Trump were to make a little progress with Black voters.
Trump has already begun using this tactic. Last week, while visiting a bodega in Harlem, the former president took aim at Biden’s immigration policy and the New York Democrats for providing rental and food subsidies to those who had just entered the nation.
When asked about a program that helped tens of thousands of migrants in New York City pay for food and temporary housing, Trump said, “They’ve poured in and taken over the parks, they took over your hotels, they take over everything, it’s no good.” The program was started in January and provided $53 million in prepaid debit cards.
Did you hear what they did? he asked. “So many people have been destroyed; African Americans are no longer able to get jobs because illegal immigrants are stealing their jobs.”
When it comes to immigration, Trump’s rhetoric is very powerful. In recent years, conservative-leaning states have utilized tens of thousands of migrants, primarily from Latin American countries, as political pawns. Black people and political officials of color in liberal cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, and Washington are at odds with the migrants, many of whom are seeking refuge. The migrants have been bussed or journeyed to these areas in hopes of being given asylum.
Example: This summer, during a heated discussion on allocating $51 million from the city to help migrants, Jeanette Taylor, a Black alderwoman, sobbed her eyes out in front of the Chicago City Council.
“Every time someone else is in a crisis, we always say, ‘We have to do something.'” Taylor lamented that “nothing gets said or done” when Black community members are victims of violence.
Activists, however, branded her a “traitor” and a “sellout” for her vote to authorize the financing transfer.
It would be “foolish not to take advantage of the fact that Trump is in the state of New York, in the city of New York, which has been disproportionately impacted by illegal immigration since Biden took office,” said Lynne Patton, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, in an interview.
Some of Trump’s detractors point out that the Republican National Committee has closed minority-themed outreach centers that had been established under Trump’s predecessor. They see it as proof that Trump’s efforts to reach out to minority voters are just rhetoric, even though administration officials have stated their intention to establish and sustain strategic centers that will be vital to their outreach initiatives.
Blair disregarded those accusations with a grin.
Having an office does not mean that you are reaching out, Blair stated. “They would prefer that you focus on office space rather than the reality that 62% of Black voters believe immigration and border security are heading in the wrong direction.
Since the New York trial will severely restrict Trump’s campaigning abilities, Trump officials acknowledge they must be strategic in their deployment of Trump. Wednesday is the only regularly scheduled day off from the trial, but Trump typically uses weekends to host events and fundraisers. He plans to rally in North Carolina on Saturday.
There are moments when Trump’s outreach to Black voters comes out as awkward or forced. A Fox News commentator praised the release of the former president’s Trump shoe earlier this year, calling it a way to “connect with Black America.” More recently, in April, the campaign of the ex-president attempted to capitalize on a photo op that Trump had with Black fast food employees at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A to go popular on social media. A Black woman named Michaelah Montgomery, who was seen in YouTube videos wishing him luck, told him, “I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you,” before approaching him and embracing him.