“What the hell do you have to lose?”
Well, according to polls and numerous reports, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s one line in an attempt to attract African-American voters seems to have the answer to that question.
Trump met with Black and Latino campaign vounteers from the Republican National Committee’s Leadership Initiative on Thursday at Trump Tower. Former Black Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson was seated next to him.
Aimed at trying to swing Black voters to his side, Trump’s statements pointing out that life for Black Americans is terrible don’t appear to be having any affect. Various polls say he’s getting only 1 percent of the Black vote in key battleground states, however, a recent poll says he now has 8 percent support among Blacks. A number he said will rise to 95 percent after four years if he’s elected.
Last week in Dimondale, Mich., Trump said to a mostly white audience that under his presidency, things would improve for Blacks, as he attacked the Democratic Party.
“You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, 58 percent of your youth are unemployed,” Trump stated, and then asked of Blacks, “What the hell do you have to lose?”
He continued his pitch at another speech, again in front of a mostly white audience.
“Look, it is a disaster the way African-Americans are living,” he said during a speech in Ohio. “We’ll get rid of the crime. You’ll be able to walk down the street without getting shot. Right now, you walk down the street, you get shot.”
Trump’s campaign has routinely turned down offers to speak to the NAACP, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Urban League and historically Black colleges and universities.
In an interview with the AmNews, Senior Strategist and National Director for African-American Engagement Ashley Bell said that although Trump is struggling to get the Black vote, Blacks are supporting other Republicans. Bell was one of several recent hires to increase Black support for the party.
“One percent in the polls reflects the challenge Republicans have,” he said. “Many Republicans are doing very well with the Black vote their state.”
Bell said that the strategy to reach Black voters is to bring in people who reach out to the community and shining light on the party’s past fixes, such as improving schools and creating jobs.
Critics say Trump fails to address his own stumbles in dealing with the Black community. The housing discrimination case his family faced when they discriminated against Black seeking to rent apartments in Trump-owned buildings is something that comes up.
One hot issue for Black New Yorkers are the full-page ads Trump took out in major newspapers in 1989 calling for the execution of the Central Park 5. The group of Black teens were accused of raping a white woman in Central Park and sentenced to prison, only to be released after the confession of another man cleared them of any wrongdoing.
Although the city has settled with the men for $41 million, Trump has yet to apologize and questioned at their innocence and the settlement.
Images of white supremacists declaring their support for Trump is also a troubling issue that has followed the campaign.
“Donald Trump has not been running for office his entire life,” Bell said. “Twenty years ago we as a people were railroaded with the worst possible legislation with the war on drugs that was at the hands of Bill Clinton. No candidate is perfect, but when you look at the overall impact (on Blacks) by the Clintons, it’s not even close.”