by Jason Cohen
Former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is ramping up its efforts to target black male voters in crucial swing states, The Washington Post reported.
The former president has been making gains with black voters as President Joe Biden has been hemorrhaging support, polls have shown. Trump’s campaign will likely focus on black men who own guns and frequently attend church in order to grow his base, advisers told the Post, who were granted anonymity to characterize private conversations.
‘With Trump, We Had Money’: What These Black Voters Told MSNBC Could Spell Bad News For Biden https://t.co/GbrI150tz9
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) February 3, 2024
Trump has considered several black men as possible vice presidential picks, such as Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, individuals who have spoken to Trump told the Post. The campaign reportedly may also attempt to convince voters to stay home as opposed to voting for Biden.
Trump appeared at Philadelphia’s “Sneaker Con”in February to engage with young voters and launch a line of Trump-branded sneakers called the Never Surrender High-Tops. Although he received some hostile reactions, Trump may do more similar events, campaign advisers told the Post.
“Crooked Joe Biden and his campaign are trying to gaslight and distract from the fact that Black Americans are turning their back on their destructive policies,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Newsweek in February. “By contrast, President Trump delivered policies for Black Americans like passing criminal justice reform, fully funded HBCUs [historically black colleges and universities], created Opportunity Zones, and lowered Black unemployment.”
MAGA Inc., one of the primary super PACs boosting Trump, unveiled a three-week radio ad initiative focusing on black voters in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan, Axios reported. One ad criticizes Biden for prioritizing “transgender equality,” and asserts that the president does not appreciate black voters.
“This is a first step in a sustained effort to reach every voter, in every corner in America,” MAGA Inc CEO Taylor Budowich told Axios. “[V]oters who traditionally vote Democrat are switching their support to Trump because they want a secure border, growing economy, and safe communities.”
Only 21% of black registered voters believe Biden’s policies “helped [them] personally,” compared to 23% who said the same of Trump’s, a New York Times/Siena College poll found.
Biden secured 87% of the black vote in 2020, compared to Trump’s 12%, according to Edison Research’s exit polls. The president’s lead with this demographic has dropped to 79% as Trump’s has risen to 19% according to a February Quinnipiac poll.
“Nobody thinks we are going to win the Black vote,” a Trump adviser told the Post. “But if you get 10 percent more, the election is over.”
The Democratic Party has bled nearly 20% of its black support over the course of Biden’s tenure, according to Gallup polling data published in February. Democrats’ 47% lead over Republicans with non-Hispanic Black adults is the lowest the party has had since 1999,
“This is part of Donald Trump’s path to victory; this is why he’s leaning in so hard,” Democratic polling and analysis firm HIT Strategies CEO Terrance Woodbury told the Post. “There’s about 32 percent of the Black electorate that’s just cynical, frustrated, closest to the pain, and that voter doesn’t like Democrats or Republicans. They feel like they’ve been failed by both sides and they’ve been failed by a system. And that’s a part of Donald Trump’s ‘the system is broken’ message that appeals to them.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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Jason Cohen is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
