Said another way, Trump is smearing chocolate frosting on a white cake. Republican operatives are constantly working to disenfranchise minority voters, so most everyone sees through Trump's superficial nonsense.
Whatever Obama did, Trump has purposely worked to undo or has undone. His base loves him for it. That says it all. We know what he is.
17
Trump specifically referred to the nationalists and Nazi's as not good people. Read the ABC article/link. And that is a big reason why he will get reelected. People are tired of the media being the mouth piece of the left and frequently lying.
5
Two words: Biden-Abrams.
6
Does this photo represent a real faith practice? Are they praying for him? He looks like he thinks they are praying to him.
6
James Carville coined the successful slogan for Bill Clinton. It is the economy stupid. Trump will remind black and other minorities to judge him on one issue only. Are they living better than before he became president? Do they have a better job? Is there family better off? Do they have a brighter future than four years ago? If the answer is yes to these questions Trump will gain considerable support from these communities. It could be the difference.
5
I work as a home health nurse and my territory is in predominantly poor, black neighborhoods. I have never heard one kind word about trump. They know he will do nothing for them & pray he’s voted out of office. My favorite story is about visiting a man who had accidentally overdosed on one of his medicines. He was still pretty sedated & unsteady so as part of my assessment I needed to determine his orientation. The usual “what year is this?”, “where are you?”, “who’s the president?” He responded, “that punk a## b*tch Trump.” I laughed hard!!
18
It’s an old Joke, but true: a Black Person Voting for any GOP candidate is like Chickens Voting for Colonel Sanders.
KFC, Kids.
11
The antidote to any Trump attempt to seduce African Americans will be Barrack Obama standing next to Joe Biden during the campaign.
For that matter, all that the Democratic candidate needs to do to destroy any African American sympathy for Trump is to remind America that Trump was the loudest and most persistent champion of the birther lie, which can only be interpreted as profoundly racist and insulting to African Americans (or, for that matter to all Americans.)
52
Polling data for black voters from one election year to another are fair indicators, but they are blunt instruments because there are so many variables which affect the numbers.
While it is true that the Trump re-election campaign and organizations closely allied to that campaign are making a concerted effort to woo black voters, there are certain inconvenient facts – most of which have emanated from Donald Trump’s mouth or his Tweets – lingering in the minds of all black Americans except the few who are “on the Trump payroll” in one form or another.
In other words, although Donald Trump may be able to persuade a small number of black voters to stay home in November by spreading false claims against the Democratic candidate or by using the divisive tool of pitting blacks against immigrants to dampen enthusiasm for a Democrat who tries to champion both groups, Trump cannot convince voters from either group to become positive for Trump or for pro-Trump Republicans.
All of this is why voter intimidation and suppression at the voting sites needs to be monitored and why Republicans in places like Ohio have been busy stripping the rolls of as many black voters as possible for the past three years.
3
I understand that anyone who now has a job that they think is due to trump’s economic policies might be more willing to vote for trump. There are costs for this, however.
trump has made this “boom” (not really any faster job growth than Obama achieved over his terms) by adding over a trillion dollars in each of two years to our national debt (remember his tax cut was going to pay for itself) and ignoring environmental protection and climate change when setting policies.
But trump has said he won’t be in office when the debt comes due or the climate gets even worse.
What about your kids or grandkids?
3
Trump talks like a racist. Trump acts like a racist. His rise to power began with racist attacks on President Obama designed to appeal to racist voters. His cynical attempts to deceive black voters should increase their determination to do everything they can to defeat him.
85
Try as he might, my African American friends know their progress is due to valiant efforts over many years by Democrats in spite of the racists who naturally flock to the GOP. Biden stuck by Obama through thick and thin, and they know this. Their turnout may not be as high as when Obama ran, but for sure they trust Biden's word. And who in their right mind would trust Trump? (Besides, Obama's careful work in safeguarding from another 2008 disastrous crash has been slowly wiped out by Trump in his jealousy of Obama's popularity)
6
Eight in 10 African-American voters think Trump is a racist. A slick campaign is not going to change that.
8
@Myron B. Pitts
Trump is poison to everyone, but especially to African- Americans. They must never forget his family history of redlining minorities and his father Fred's likely affiliation with the KKK. Trump is a hater and he must be stopped before he completely destroys our society.
7
Biden has already stated that whoever his running mate is, it will not be another old, white man. He has also floated the idea that he is committed to nominating a woman of color to the Supreme Court. I suggest his running mate will be a black female. Possibly from the west coast as he wont need a southerner to make his point.
@LesIsMore
I think Julian Castro would be a good choice as his running mate.
2
Aside from those entering the U.S. on H1b visas, immigrants, particularly the undocumented are competing directly with our most economically disadvantaged, unskilled and semi-skilled workers; a group that includes a disproportionate number of African-Americans.Until Democrats face this reality, they have every reason to worry about black disaffection in the General.
3
I, for one, am not going to allow the GOP to get me to attack other minorities via my vote. It is a blatantly obvious trick and a twisted one at that. Trump and his conservatives would have whole swaths of people (including poor white voters) competing for scraps while financial Masters of the Universe siphon tax dollars that should be used for the general welfare into their ever-deeper pockets.
The GOP wants my vote? How about a show of good faith? Let McConnell and his cronies take the first step by dropping their ridiculous voter suppression tactics; no more permanent disenfranchisement, extreme partisan gerrymandering, etc. The GOP could stop the nonsense, pass HR 1 in its entirety and seek to MAXIMIZE voter participation. In other words, the GOP could pretend, for once, that I am equal in their collective eyes.
Oh and a final note. I’m not sharing a political tent with scum like David Duke, Steve King, Stephen Miller, Roy Moore, Limbaugh, etc. Of they are comfortable with the GOP and its trajectory, you should assume their consistent targets for persecution (ie, people such as myself) are not. If the erstwhile Party of Lincoln can’t do that, they can get lost.
8
Sure, Trump would like to beef up his base, add a few more voters, but he won’t succeed! Trump’s base are Republicans. African-Americans and other minority know what’s has happened in Red states controlled by Republicans! Republicans, in order to win, have closed polling place over 100 in Texas, even as the population has grown! Republicans suppressed the vote in North and South Dakota, making it very difficult for Native Americans to vote. Republicans have cheated and lied in North Carolina, going as far as canvassing a Black neighborhood “collecting” ballots in order to disenfranchise the African-American community. Trump is delusional, the majority of African-Americans will continue to vote Democrat. The low unemployment has been around since Obama. They are not benefiting from the Trump tax scam,
4
That image is a real study. Trump wide awake staring at the camera. For those believers who think he cares, please wake up. He doesn't. Just being willing to let people lay hands on you does not make an evil man religious. It makes him an exploiter.
If someone tells you who they are, believe him.
14
Thought balloon over Trumps head could have the famous quote from Charleston Heston from the first Planet of the Apes movie.
1
Trump will endlessly bombard the black community with prior missteps by either Sanders (socialist engagements, support for leftist regimes) or Biden (freeze of SS, Medicare, Medicaid and vote for Iraq war). Democrats, in return, should remind them of Trump's racist renting policies, his full page vicious NY Daily News ad: "Bring back the death penalty- bring back our police" urging the death penalty on 5 black boys for allegedly raping a female jogger in Central Park, but decidedly cleared through DNA tests after another man confessed to the crime. Trump's call to "end the war on our police", referring to black perpetrators, and excusing bad police behavior when directed at blacks, are his themes to this day. His past racist expressions and sympathies with white supremacist groups should also be highlighted, as his intent to kill Obamacare that will result in eliminating Medicaid to many poor blacks.
2
If ever there was a need for an exorcism, the time is now!
4
2020 is different from 2016. Trump is now a known commodity, not some "outsider" who can make any claim at all and be given the benefit of the doubt, as he was in '16.
How could any person of color vote for Trump in '20, after considering everything he's said and done as president (and before)?
This election is about the MAJORITY of Americans who want a president who doesn't lie to them constantly, whom they don't have to feel embarrassed and hopeless about, who doesn't routinely trash anyone (65% of all Americans) who disagrees with his bizarre thinking and obvious racial and gender prejudices, who isn't fundamentally dishonest and corrupt, and who's not constantly whining "Poor me, they're all out to get me."
We're all fed up with his act, and fed up with HIM.
6
In 2016 and again this year, Trump has been enthusiastically endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan. Think about that, and publicize that fact.
21
Trump is one Obama endorsement away from irrelevancy with black voters. Go Joe 2020!
10
These pictures with Trump in the Oval Office and Christian ministers praying with their hands on Trump, for me, are horrifying.
19
@David Bible When I first saw the photo, I thought he was being comforted after having lost a loved one.
1
@David Bible Maybe they're just trying to keep him still.
4
Maybe they’re going for an exorcism?
1
After Biden wins the nomination, Obama will be out on the campaign trail. Trump will get shellacked by Biden in garnering the black vote.
8
My colleague in Dallas is a black woman that voted for Trump last time and has convinced her family to vote for Trump this time.
2
@Leah Rachael
And that comment means what?
4
@Leah Rachael
Fortunately, every legal citizen of voting age in this country has that right. My African American family’s votes will be for Biden.
3
@Kevin - It means that P.T. Barnum was right.
8
Joe Biden, Stacy Abrams. That's the ticket!
6
To know that African Americans are being played for fools, one only has to look at what Trump was doing in the 1970s when he was sued by the Justice Department for flat out telling blacks there were no vacancies in his buildings while at the same time accepting white applicants.
10
The photo of open-eyed Trump with closed eyed black supporters laying hands on him is emblematic of the relationship that exists between them.
9
@Montessahall They were there for the prayer. He was there for the camera.
3
Am I the only one disturbed by the messianic theme of this picture?
8
@Rick I don't think so. He's the one who has NOT risen.
2
Such a lengthy article by this far left columnist indicates how worried Democrats are about Trump's voting base.
I mean, lowest ever Black unemployment rate.
That's huge!
7
Yeah... lowest since the 60s. But, as in the 60s, outright racism is still a deal-breaker.
1
This is all subterfuge to convince suburban white women that he isn't that racist. But he is that racist, and everyone I know knows that. He does not give a fig about our community. It's white women who may or may not vote for him to appease their husbands. And who are these black voters? I have never met them.
6
Trump needs all the help he can get, I mean just what can he say about Biden now
1
Naturally a con artist like Donald Trump would try to buy black support (using his bigoted followers’ money), rather than earn it, which he has no interest in doing. And yes, the Dems have taken the support of black Americans for granted for years. But black Americans should remember it was Donald Trump who told four prominent Americans of color to “go back where they came from”; inspired his supporters to chant “send her back”; and who got elected with and still solicits and welcomes the support of David Duke and the Klan, the “alt-right” and every other racist group in America and worldwide.
Trump’s so-called outreach to black voters is like everything else about him: a fraud. It’s tragic anyone falls for it.
8
We just saw that one billionaire’s money could not buy black votes in the south. At least one group of Americans is smart enough to know Trump.
3
I didn't need to read the article because the photo says it all. Trump is a megalomaniacally entitled monarch who expects the serfs in his fiefdom to cower to him in return for what? For just being in their presence. Not for long pal.
3
I didn't need to read the article because the photo says it all. Trump is a megalomaniacally entitled monarch who expects the serfs in his fiefdom to cower to him in return for what? For just being in their presence. Not for long pal.
3
That photo is downright creepy. They almost look like paid actors.
4
@Libby I'm just surprised he didn't have 12 behind him.
3
“Verily I say unto you that one of you shall testify against me...”
Trump thinks that African Americans have suffered from inequities as a group because they are on average less equal in terms of abilities. I truly doubt that he’s going to rile up African Americans with his usual mixture of fear and loathing and ridiculous lies given his bigoted attitudes towards this group of people. But we shall see.
1
Somebody help me please! That photograph is straight out of SNL and/or Professional Wrestling! What has happened to us?
6
And Democrats have their sights set on white working class voters.
Why not write that story?
3
@Barbara T They did. Maybe you were napping.
Maybe the strategy isn’t so much to attract *black* voters as it is to give *white* voters reasons to deny that their support for Trump is racist. Flipping the script that supporting Trump is racist could be very useful in hanging on to white suburban voters . . .
1
WARNING, Donald John Trump will disappoint you.
Ladies, he is the cute guy with the great job and nice car that you meet.
Gentlemen, he is the absolutely beautiful woman that you find yourself talking to.
You are both expecting the world, but all you will receive are lies, lies and more lies.
The Donald only cares about one thing, himself.
He has no love of country, no care for its citizens, and no interest in its future.
He does what will benefit him in the present.
He has sold out or betrayed everyone close to him, other that his children and their time may be coming.
Trump has the cunning of a character from the Godfather.
I truly believe that Pence is the fall guy for the corona-virus, if it does not spread, then the Donald will take all the credit.
If it spreads, then Pence failed to stop it and he will be replaced as Vice President and another more pro-Trump sycophant will take his place in the reelection bid.
Please look at the picture, all other heads are bowed, his is up and plotting his next move.
The Democrats are far from perfect but the word loyalty, is not in Trump's limited vocabulary.
6
@arubaG Agree with everything except he is not the cute guy, not now not ever. As he likes to say about women "look at him, would anyone date that?"
2
Where does the lowest unemployment rate in history rank among African Americans. I would think pretty high.
5
@Dady , actually it does not.
@Dady, the African-American community has had low unemployment since Obama rescued the economy! Problem is wages have not risen. Trump doesn’t care about ANYONE of color, he’s an opportunist and we know it.
1
@Dady Huh? They have a ''pretty high'' low unemployment rate?
My first thought when I read the title of this piece was: “He wants to deport them too?”
7
Let's admit it, the black community just isn't as left wing on economic and gender issues as the left wing of the Democratic Party. If the democrats lose the black vote it will have a lot to do with letting people like AOC determine the direction of the party.
6
@J Alice O'Connell ?
Okay, I'll think about that.
@J Let's admit it. The so-called black community does not exist any more than does a "white community.''
1
Barber shop blanketing --- it will be a great Sunday Mag Pc for the Times
Trump isn’t seeking Black voters. His campaign wants to pretend to want them to win back some suburban moderates.
Blacks know who Trump is and won’t vote for him.
3
Trump has his eyes on Black Voters!
What is his plan, base on his history, mass incarceration?
1
That picture makes me sick! Is Trump a god? Why would anyone lose their dignity to pose for such a picture? And why does Trump always look so angry? He certainly isn't praying.
5
@Katherine Cagle Why does he look so angry.....maybe because the Pope didn't show up when Donald personally told him to be there.
1
Candace Owens and Blexit are a power to be reckoned with.
Candace Owens, Nikki Haley, and Elise Stefanik are the future of the Republican Party. These women are a force.
5
@P&L They're as phony as republican men.
2
Forget what the lying, panderer in chief says. He uses people to get what he wants, then throws them away. He is not to be trusted by anyone for any reason.
The republican party, more than trump, has wronged the African American citizens of this nation. See SCOTUS - declaring parts of the Voting Rights act irrelevant, using every trick in their playbook for decades to suppress their votes.
Look at what they did to Stacey Abrams here in GA. That carefully choreographed display of black at the SOTU was nothing more than show. Don't be fooled - leopards don't change their spots.
"I don't believe what you say because I see what you do."
- James Baldwin
Said a very wise man.
3
@Deb Bingo!!!
Absolutely no one should take Black voters for granted. That should include Donald Trump. Black voters are perfectly capable of evaluating what he's said, done and advocated. They'll make their own decisions, not those that anyone else imagines that they can maneuver them into.
2
@Stephen Merritt Nor should any voter take a Trump defeat for granted. Go into the voting booth and make it happen !
Any African-American, woman or gay person who votes for the trump puts their future in jeopardy.
2
Can the most bigoted president in the modern era, who has time after time done real harm to black voters and demonized black voters, convince black voters that circumstances are otherwise? I believe the threat here will primarily involve dirty tricks, including Russian sabotage, countless lies, efforts to suppress black turnout, and efforts to disenfranchise black voters. In any case, Biden and Sanders and the Democrats must promise in no uncertain terms to do the right thing by black voters, including such things as Booker's baby bonds, reparations, rectifying the gap in household wealth. Obviously, Biden and Sanders and the Democrats must put a lot of effort and money (are you listening, Mayor Bloomberg?) into voter turnout and protecting the voting rights of black citizens. Doing the right thing would also be doing the best thing.
2
I'm black voted for trump in '16 and will do so again in '20. I want limited immigration, a strong economy and low taxes. I also don't like some of the social changes in regards to sexuality and transgenderism. So the Dems are simply out imho.
4
@Ed
I’m black, did not vote for trump in 2016 and will not be voting for him in 2020. He is racist, a misogynist, and a consummate liar. Anyone with integrity would not vote for him.
2
@Ed So sorry for you. Please enlighten the rest of us black folks about the "strong economy and low taxes."
1
Just a reminder -- In 2007, Thomas Edsall wrote the book "Building Red America -- The New Conservative Coalition and the Drive for Permanent Power".
This is his schtick -- every article promotes the idea that Republicans are winning, even when they're not.
1
The photograph accompanying this article - in what year was it taken?
It is obscene.
3
@Ronald The people around him are simply telling the snarling man with a terrible temper: ''Down, boy !''
1
Wow. A picture is worth a thousand words.
When people rally around you, and especially when praying for you, you have a sense of inner peace. If you are a person of faith in God, this is especially true.
That look on his face speaks volumes about what lies inside the heart of the man. He certainly does not look serene, nor appreciative of the prayer.
Might take a 2nd look evangelicals.....
1
The photo accompanying this story is a hoot. You might expect Trump to start speaking in tongues, which would sound more literate than his normal delivery.
1
Neither l nor anyone in my family will be voting for trump no matter what tactics he uses to “get the black vote.” We know a con man when we see one and trump is definitely a con man. We also know a racist when we see one. trump is definitely racist. As far as the low unemployment rate for AA, President Obama gets the credit for that as well as turning around one of the worse economy’s in US history. trump will do and say anything to get re-elected, including pandering to a race a people he has spent decades showing, by word and deed, he despises. We will not be fooled.
4
The issue trump has with African-Americans is not that he's reaching out with extensive TV ads and other resources to draw them to him and his party, but rather what racist policies he, his administration and republican house, senate and state legislatures support and do. Which is really the case for trump and his cronies no matter whom they are trying to attract, it's what they do that matters not what horse-hooey they spew.
2
The thought that Trump has the black interests at heart us laughable. Trump has Trump’s interests at heart. That’s it.
4
Interesting how Trump, a white supremacist all of his life, who has been sued thousands of time in New York for his housing discrimination practices, is now "wooing" our African American citizenry. This, while the GOP, at the state level, works hard to disenfranchise these same people of color in all the states that they control the legislature. Voting for Trump, as a colored person today, would be like voting for Jefferson Davis in the 1860's.
3
@Joe Miksis And they think we don't know that. Which means they insult the intelligence of black people with their fake ads and fake interest.
1
By strengthening the economy and reducing + tightening the immigration DT is in fact significantly helping the Black community. I really do not see any particular reason why would they uniformly vote Biden, let alone Sanders. I know, every one will cry racism but that's just bonkers. A catchphrase by the liberals to destroy Trump.
4
All that is unequal in popular representation at the federal level in the US was contrived to accommodate slavery under state laws.
1
Closing days 1960 Election Nixon finally utilizing popular Ike rousing adoring crowds; effective tactic almost swinging election but too late. President Obama used in similar fashion post Presidential Debates in heavily black neighborhoods ultimately electing Biden.
1
@Sean
Sorry but you've overestimated Barack Obama's popularity with young progressive black voters. From his watered down Affordable Care Act to his refusal to prosecute Wall Street for its misdeeds during the financial crisis, he consistently pandered to corporate interests. Since he's left office he's been handsomely paid for being a propr corporate toadie.
It's older or less educated black Americans where Obama is most effective as a spokesperson.
3
I have my sights set on pie in the sky. That doesn't mean I'll ever get it. Perhaps when pigs fly. Cheer up Donald. There's always Kanye.
2
@wildwest
Don't underestimate Trumps ability to get just enough of the black vote to win again in 2020. Black people just watched two black Democratic Party presidential candidates that won statewide elections just get discounted out of hand immediately while white moderates fawned over a small town mayor, with less political experience, that had never won a statewide election.
The irony of Pete Buttigieg exiting the race after getting trounced in South Carolina does not escape me.
Let's stop acting like liberals can't be racist. A lot of them are fine with black people voting for the candidates of their choice, and then these candidates totally ignoring them.
1
Black unemployment law be low and all the other things but it isn't due to anything trump did.
Black voters may not have known before or paid attention. Or maybe they weren't excited about Hilary. But we've listened to 3 years of him now. It's clear now he hates anyone that isn't like him. And clear that he lies as easily as he breathes and is willing to say anything, to be forgotten in the next minute with no intention of following thru.
All the people he pardoned. Someone asked when he pardoned his felon friends if he was going to also pardon Kwame Kilpatrick, the black ex-mayor of Detroit. I smiled as soon as I heard it. Of course not. Trump is looking forward to his future. He's looking forward to his other rich pals that he can hang around and golf wiwith and they can tell him how swell he is. Or someone that can do something for him in the future. Kwame is poor and black, and doesn't have anything trump wants. I'm not advocating for Kwame by any means but this is relative to why black people won't be fooled a second time.
Of course, by the time November gets here, he will have had lots of opportunities to finish killing all nationalities off with his inept handing of the convavirus. So rather than him getting a bloc of black voters, he may actually end up losing some of his other supporters as well. Hard to enjoy unemployment or stock market gains if you're dead
Give it a few months and see what happens.
Will informed intelligent people buy Trump? Tuesday spoke volumes.
There appears to be a cross current in the voter analysis. A slightly higher percentage of black voters approve of Trump’s job performance, but the much larger antipathy toward him will probably drive up turnout against him.
The only pertinent question is how much of a net vote differential the various factors produce in the states that matter. Motivated, angry black turnout in Milwaukee and Detroit and Philadelphia and across North Carolina would probably lose the election for Trump.
If anywhere close to 15% of black voters vote for Trump, the democrats will lose. The problem is that many of the issues raised by Trump are valid. Black unemployment is at an all time low. One can't help but wonder if this is due partly to decreased illegal immigration. Elijah Cumming's congressional district is a mess, as are many other predominantly black neighborhoods throughout the country. Most importantly, Trump asks the question of how blacks have fared over the years living in cities and states largely managed and run by Democrats?
Democrats have been taking the black vote for granted for decades. Trump is simply asking Democrats to defend their record. My guess is that the Democrats won't be too successful at this.
34
@chip All employment is at an all time low. So are wages. Working people of all colors have not been paid this badly in a hundred years - that was the last time inequality was so bad. Places managed by Democrats have been ruined by the bad economics of corporate greed. The South has been exclusively run by Republicans for the last 3 decades, and they use more government assistance than the North.
One party has never raised the minimum wage, has fought universal healthcare for 70 years, and continually gives tax breaks to the wealthy. It ain't the Democrats.
119
@chip Though black unemployment is at an all-time low, it is not clearly due to Trump's policies (though he pats himself on his back on this all of the time). The general reduction of unemployment started with Trump's predecessor, President Obama. Our only black President. This should not be disregarded.
71
@Victor Mark - Trump can turn around and say look at that factory in Mississippi. When ICE marched in and deported the entire workforce, the owners were desperate and had to hire local American citizens - guess who! And wages went up, because they needed to get someone to do the work right away.
22
If there is anything that yesterday’s results proved, it is that a large investment in time and money is not going to change people’s minds. Just ask Michael Bloomberg. The African-American community favored Barack Obama by staggering margins without special effort by his campaign, and they turned out in high numbers. If Joe Biden is the candidate, the result is likely to be similar. I welcome the Trump campaign wasting their money providing lies, distortions and propaganda to people who will ignore it all with a sneer. If Mr. Bloomberg really wants to support the Democratic Party, let him spend his millions where it counts - Getting Out the Vote.
87
@Chuck Burton After the stunning Super Tuesday victories by Biden, the Democratic party won't have to worry about the black vote. Sanders isn't going to be the nominee. Last night was a disaster for his campaign. He was exposed as a deeply flawed candidate. His support in the black community is very weak. Mainstream African American voters won't vote for Democratic Socialism. That point can't be emphasized enough. President Sanders is a progressive fantasy that will never happen. Black voters don't want a revolution. They want someone who can beat Trump & steady the ship of state. End of story. Biden can do this. The results are in. You have to be blind to not be able to read these tea leaves. Black voters are rejecting progressivism but endorsing centrism. What does that tell you? There's no progressive majority in the U.S. & never will be. It's all a myth. The numbers are simply not there. There certainly is no progressive Electoral College coalition in the U.S. that could get to the needed 270 votes. Biden will bring the African American voters we lost in 2016 back into the fold. Because of that, he will win in 2020.
2
@Chuck Burton: In 2010, the last census year election, Obama's voters did not turn out, which truncated his hopeful audacity.
1
@Bill Brown Biden is doing well with old baby boomer blacks who have consistently played into the narrative of voting for a "respectable" man. Biden is instrumental in the 94 crime bill, and will have trouble gaining black vote from all age groups. Older blacks are consistently lack critique and political analysis in choosing their leaders. Black home equity plummeted under Obama, and Biden is responsible for a generation of youth being cast as expendable prisoners, but yet we still give up votes with a lack of a critical eye. The unemployment numbers under Obama do not reveal the reliance on gig economy jobs like Uber or Instacart. The community should be tired of these games from both parties, and I am certain this will show in the upcoming election.
2
A waste of brain energy and ink. NYTs, I wonder sometimes if YOUR goal is to be decisive and disseminate misinformation. You have a writer who is neither Black nor a minority writing about how Black folks and minorities feel about Trump. I can assure you, we Black folks despise him even more 4 years later. Stop trying to craft and create news angles. Conjecture obviously got no one anywhere in 2016. If you think that people of color don't see the racist appointments and racist policies coming out of the Trump administration, then you are as shortsighted and ignorant as Trump and his acolytes. Stop drumming up indecisiveness when you could be conveying a message of logic and facts regarding how unprepared and incompetent this administration truly is.
5
Joe Biden / Stacey Abrams!
2
One wonders what demons visit Donald Trump late at night.
This is perhaps the most shocking and sickening photo of Trump I have seen. Why aren't those hands encircling his throat? He can barely sit there with all those black folk standing so close and daring to touch his royal body. His look of detached, dissociated rage is horrifying.
3
LOLOL. He’s a germophobe and they’re all laying hands on him. Guess what you will is going through that tender, narrow mind of his!?
1
Caption:
President Trump gives the stink eye to the staffer who approved this photo op.
2
How many chickens vote for Colonel Sanders?
2
your photo says it all.
1
What a terrible photograph.
1
The picture says it all. A miserable germaphobe and con job of a man horribly uncomfortable with all these black hands on his shoulder...
He is thinking ‘ what will my all my white racist fans think when they see this ?’
3
It’s clear from these comments that the NYT readers are biased and out of touch. Black employment is up and opportunities abound. The shrill call of liberals that discrimination is everywhere rings hollow and everyday life is good. Black voters like Jewish voters and Latinx voters are individuals and can think for themselves and don’t need to be lectured by the white liberal twitter mob.
23
@Paul
You're right. They can think for themselves.
That's why they will not vote for Trump.
I suggest that white, anglo, christian, conservatives stop saying that minorities will turn out for Trump in droves.
26
@Paul This white liberal knows a fraud when he sees one, and crying "But the economy" is short-sighted and overtly dishonest. You're right though, I don't need to lecture anyone about discrimination. Anyone familiar with the actors in this administration know it's there no matter what it looks like on the surface.
25
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
I believe there's a fundamental misunderstanding in the analyses here. My take is The Don's objective is not to attract Black voters - he knows he's not going to get many and the RNC is doing a fine job of suppressing that segment of the voting population.
People don't like to believe themselves to be racist; his efforts are directed at enabling his base to vote for him with a clear conscience. With his apparent efforts to appeal to the Black community, his base is more likely to come out and vote. After all, just look at the effort he's putting forth at appealing to Black voters. He must be a good guy trying to help out that unappreciative population.
I believe the DNC and mainstream media continues to, as George Bush put it, "misunderestimate" him seriously. If there's not a course change, he's likely to trounce the now presumptive, thanks to the DNC's having closed ranks in an impressive display of party discipline, Democratic candidate, Sleepy Joe.
@edwardc
If Donald Trump get 10% of the black vote and less than 60% of black voter turnout, he wins the election. If he gets 30% of the Latino vote and less than 47% Latino voter turnout, he will win the election. Those were the dynamics in place during the 2016 election.
Despite Biden support among older black voters, Sanders leads among younger black voters. Sanders also has strong support in the Latino community. The collusion involving Klobuchar and Buttigieg stopping their campaign and Warren staying in to siphon off progressive voters is not going to ender the Democratic Party leadership to Sanders supporters. I expect a substantial number of these voters to turn their back on the Democratic Party.
Donald Trump will win the 2020 election because he as a vision as reprehensible as many find it, and he is the best politician in the country.
1
Trump's main selling point to blacks is that they benefit from "his" economy. Actually they are benefiting from the Obama economy, created by an intelligent, hardworking president while the Republicans were chanting "we hope he fails".
Blacks need to remember who lives in the countries Trump was talking about when he referred to "s***hole countries"
3
@Charlesbalpha Exactly. We heard Mitch McConnell say explicitly that his main priority was to make Pres. Obama a one term president. To old Mitchie, his number one job was not to help black folks or poor people but to hurt as many regular Americans as he could by not doing his job. We also heard this sorry excuse for a human being, trump, and his wife, try and delegitimize President Obama as not being an American.
1
Biden is not Clinton, Biden is more benign and popular than Hillary ever was. Trump's attacks on Biden could have the unintended consequence of turning more black voters away from Trump and towards Biden. Plus, we now have two good examples of how mega-spending does not necessarily win campaigns - Steyer and Bloomberg. There needs to be more than money in the game.
Don't worry about it. Black people hate and fear Trump. They are going to turn out massively in November- all across the country.
And those 13% of black men who voted for Trump in '16?
If they have Moms still alive, or a wife, they are going to get told- in no uncertain terms- to vote Blue or Stay Home.
And a lot of white guys in the ring suburbs of Southern cities are going to be hearing that from their wives, too. Some white suburban guys Up North are going to hetr that, too.
In No Uncertain Terms.
The combination of a motivated black turnout and outraged white suburban women puts every Southern state into play and moves every purple Northern state into the presumptively Blue category.
As matters stand, we are looking at a potential nationwide repudiation of Trump- one in which he carries only the Reddest of The States Where Almost Nobody Lives.
2
@Lefthalfbach ''If they have Moms still alive, or a wife, they are going to get told- in no uncertain terms- to vote Blue or Stay Home.''
Are the moms going into the booths with them to make sure?
1
Trump has lived a life in which money has provided everything that he has ever needed. Yet, it did not provide him with the attention, the sense of belonging and being appreciated which he needed. So he has developed into a person who expends no energy on learning to think nor to become informed as to how to acquire what he needs materially, no intellectual skills at all, but a great adeptness at becoming the center of attention and using manipulative skills to convince people to give him what he wants from them.
So it’s clueless of him to expect that others have no regards for how they have been treated by he and can be cooped by money into supporting him.
1
@Casual Observer Or by, as my mother and grandmother used to say, "bootleg preachers."
Democrats don't realize that they're falling into Trump's trap. If Biden is the nominee, be prepared for non-stop Republican criticism of Hunter Biden's Ukraine connection. By election day voters will be saying: "At least Trump is honest about his lack of ethics." And folks thought Hillary Clinton was a disaster...
3
He’s got one, the guy he pays to stand in the audience during his rallies.
2
I'm mystified why so many people seem to be excited about the comparatively low rate of unemployment for blacks. As far as I can tell, most of the job growth has been in very low wage work. Granted a rotten job pays more than no job, but many people are juggling two or more low-paying, no-benefits jobs, often going without sleep or decent child care, and unable to invest in their retirement. Of course the 1% are fine with this. They can claim the system isn't bad--after all, even the long-suffering blacks "enjoy" the rewards of low unemployment. The fact that most are stuck in low-wage, demoralizing or physically exhausting work just makes it all the harder for them to see the big picture and organize and revolt. "You'll get ahead if you just work harder!" No, you won't. Our carnival-game economy is rigged against you.
3
The photo looks like a still from a Jordan Peele film.
Kudos to the photog.
2
Both Political parties have taken African American votes for granted. We are rarely at the table but always on the menu.
Given the enormity of our power as a voting block we have never collected on the debt owed us, for helping to put Democrats in power. Trumps point is well taken, "what do you have to lose".
Like the majority of African Americans I believe that Trump and his policies are despicable. That being said we must hold his/her feet to the fire whoever the Democratic nominee will be.
2
We understand Putin's strategy to mean chaos. Trump is nothing but an extension of Putin's strategy. What would cause the most chaos in the small-d democratic electorate? Last time it was going after working class voters. This time it's going after black voters. We've known this since the Super Bowl at least. Divide and conquer.
1
My question would be: "Do these black voters that Trump is going after reside in swing states?" If anyone knows could they share their wisdom?
I remember right after Trumps election. Next day went to work expressing how surprised I was that Trump won. After a spit out a couple of reason why i was amazed a few in my crew started laughing. Puzzled as to why? They told me this.... The only people surprised were white people. I grew up in a mixed area and went to a equally black/brown/white school. (s Dallas). Even then, with all that supposedly wok experience ,I was still seeing a diff world. Be the change you want to see...
1
Virus Trump was never our President. If he was ever President of anything, it was only of the Twitter world. He was always for himself.
2
A most unfortunate turn of phrase, given the president.
Black voters will show up in November -- not to vote Joe Biden in but to vote Donald Trump out.
Joe's VP choice will be big factor.
1
The go to accusation of 2016 in the Russians did it. Even Scientific American is going with it. Of course the argument is utterly unprovable. The demoralization of the electorate angle. The real problem is that Hillary Clinton did not have a campaign that reached out to young blacks who were influenced by the spate of police violence against young black people who were almost all innocent of any wrong doing. Stop and frisk and police profiling were a major issue. Obama was a spectacular success with the black community. But he alone could not change the social problems involving race through out the country. Just as Clinton couldn't excite the Latino vote, which Sanders has had some success in doing. Biden, with Obama's help, will get a very large black turnout against Trump. Trump bigoted open support of white nationalism and denigration of blacks is clear to see.
Democrats may not, in general, be held in the highest esteem by minority voters, especially Black voters. But Democrats are the best, and most likely, the only hope for life improving programs for minorities.
Elections have consequences...
@HapinOregon
Here is the problem with your thinking. There are many middle and upper income black Americans that have reconciled themselves to the fact that at its core America is racist country. Yet that has not deterred them from being successful. They have actually benefited from lower taxes and a growing economy just like middle and upper income white Americans.
Joe Biden does not represent any significant change in terms of social or economic policies that will help the poorest and least advantaged black Americans. He is in essence a republican-lite democrat. There is also an increasing frustration among black Americans about how black political candidates were discounted almost immediately by white democrat voters as "unelectable." Trump is smart enough to use all of this to his advantage.
1
@Carl
That America is essentially racist is a given. It has been since its inception. The best that can be hoped for, IMHO, is continued amelioration and more balanced population mix.
Most middle class people I know, including me, have NOT benefited from Trump's largesse. My income tax preparation tells me that.
Yes, Biden is a "Republican-lite" Democrat. But, then again, so were Clinton and Obama. Each governed as a Rockefeller Republican would have, not as an FDR/LBJ Democrat would have.
Trump can look all he wants but the truth is they're all smarter than he is.
Are we just going to ignore the likelihood that if it's Biden, Obama is going to be spending a lot of time out on the campaign trail?
And if Biden is smart, he'll pick Stacy Abrams as his running mate.
Trump can say whatever he wants, but I think everyone realizes that he hasn't done anything specific to help black Americans. Just being president when unemployment is low isn't enough. And once Obama gets out there and starts reminding everyone where this 10-year growth spurt started...
What’s missing from this op-ed? Two things: A single reason why African-Americans should vote for a Democrat. And, a rebuttal to Trump’s argument that unemployment among the African-American community is at its lowest level ever.
4
Trump's genius is probing for weakness and exploiting it. Sometimes it takes a few attempts but he is persistent.
He can achieve success in two ways here - attracting even a small percentage increase of support over the 2016 numbers, and messaging that surpresses turnout and enthusiasm for the Democratic candidate.
I winced at his clumsy attempts to reach out in 2016 (what have you got to lose!), but I now have more respect for the potential to do real damage here.
And part of my worry is knowing that Brad Parscale's digital campaign (mainly FaceBook) is invisible to everyone but the micro-targeted audience. This is a story to watch, and I hope the media can somehow keep up with this aspect of the campaign this time around.
@Scott Newton Even Shakespeare couldn't create a more startling oxymoron than "trump's genius." Self-serving corruption is not "genius."
1
I would not downplay the president's efforts to use true, but meaningless statistics to sway a segment of Black voters to believe he cares about them. tRump obviously does not. That said, the Democrats should take nothing for granted with Black male voters over 30 years old. Black women of that age and greater will see the grift that is tRump and not support him more than within a rounding error. But Black men of that age (of which I am one) tend to pay less attention and are swayable by bravado.
That's why the democrats must reach out to the under 30 year old black men, especially college educated black men (of which my son is one) who are supporting Bernie. The party must keep those voters active and engaged if Bernie is not the nominee.
1
@newyorkerva
The Democratic Party has shown it is not concerned about the issues of younger voters of any race or ethnicity.
If you are a young or progressive voter, it's time to turn your back on the Democratic Party. It's a party basically controlled by corporations and wealthy donors.
1
@Carl
Yeah, the Facebooks and Kochs of the world are sure controlling the Democratic party.
This is a powerful and an unsettling photo. The woman on the right has her hat in the frame of the rounded window like the Statue of Liberty herself. But the most stunning thing is Trump, his expression of absolutism.
As a priest, I've gathered around colleagues like this at ordinations and anointed people to offer healing. It is a humbling experience. Here Trump seems unmoved by all that prayer, that anointing.
2
If Joe Biden is the candidate, you can expect a strong black voter turnout, with overwhelming Democratic support. End of story. If Sanders is the nominee, on the other hand, this becomes a major concern.
1
"...or a repeat of the relatively low black turnout of 2016, could seriously endanger Democratic prospects."
Why no mention of the suppression of black voters in 2016? It was successful then and I'm sure the Republicans will try this tactic again.
4
Be wary. The republicans have been convincing voters to vote against their best interests, for decades.
3
This analysis is incomplete w/o discussing GOP Senate nominee John James in Michigan, who as a black businessman from Detroit, would likely be an effective surrogate there.
If there's not a person of color on the presidential ticket for Dems, the Senate race in MI will have outsize implications for the presidential contest. Dems had better get ready for 'We're not racist, YOU are!' type ploys to peel away black voters away from Democratic leanings and away from both the Dem nominee and incumbent Senator Gary Peters, who doesn't have the money or personality of James. Peters will have a harder time dispatching him than Stabenow did in 2018, a race that increased his name recognition. The party can't count on recapturing lost black votes from Detroit with James on the ticket.
What's more, James seems to excite moderate swing voters in the suburbs of Detroit, making him a double-edged sword. It's not hard to envision conservative black voters both voting for James AND Trump. As the state has trended red since 2010, it's possible 2018 was just a temporary feint to the left, and the conservative turn since 2010 will continue in 2020. Even small defections from the Dem coalition will matter.
If Democrats don't start reaching out to people of color in MI early and often, they risk losing a winnable state. Trump's data operation, play for black votes, and an exciting Senate candidate will create a perfect storm that put Michigan's 16 electoral votes very much in play.
3
There are always flukes, but the truth always comes out. And the truth is that Trump does not have their interest at heart. What you are talking about here is the fringe.
7
Look at the face of the man who is seated. He is angry. He is not happy. He does not exude warmth. He has never laughed out loud since being elected. He does not exude empathy or caring in any way, shape, or form.
He will never win over the majority of those this article states he wishes to pursue.
11/3/20. VOTE.
12
@ Guitar M
I think he was going for his idea of a god face.
If you believe the comments here the Dems have the black vote locked up, but that’s far from the truth. Trump is going to make deep inroads with the working class white, black and Asian voters. If Biden wins, Trump will run on NAFTA, TPP and China (Again), but now he can also run on Anita Hill, the crime bill, Bankruptcy bill and Hunter Biden. The democrats are making a grave error by coalescing around Biden and will result in the realignment of the parties like in the UK and AUS. Unfortunately,they won’t see it coming until after the Election.
9
@Commenter
Do not hold your breath.
Looking at this portrait of a resolute Trump, his flock complete with 'Lady Liberty' joining in supplication might ring true for those who still believe in him; for others it's just another image reflecting the daily mockery of our Constitution.
7
I guess it would be ironic that Republican strategies to suppress the minority vote and the voting rights of the people of color might prevent them from voting for Trump after he tries to win their votes.
12
He.Has.NO.Chance. 8% in 2016. And that was BEFORE we saw the rise in racism against Blacks, Muslims, and everyone else.
He's looking at losses, not gains in November. Despite this "adorable" photo op. The Republicans have tried gerrymandering - which was rejected in several states - to lessen the impact of Black voters. What were they afraid of? GUESS.
9
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How anyone of those individuals in that picture could vote for trump after seeing it is beyond comprehension. His face says it all.
11
Trump's strongest support comes from men, particularly men without college degrees.
So it is not surprising that despite Trump's overt racism that some men of color would support him.
Misogyny does not have racial barriers.
4
No black voter I know missed trump’s meaning when the man voiced his admiration for Gone with the Wind. Nor have they failed to hear his scores of other dog whistles to the white-supremacy crowd. Instead, they are very well aware that, for them, life under trump has grown increasingly perilous. They also know that it has grown increasingly poor for many members of their community, as the trump administration hacks away at programs like SNAP and Obamacare. They now know the answer to “What do you have to lose?” And it’s everything.
9
Edsall accepts too readily what Republican strategists say. He accepts what Trump says. Strategists and Trump say they want to win the Black vote.
That's FALSE. It is not true.
First, Republicans want most of all for Blacks NOT to vote. Their greatest efforts are devoted to persuading Blacks NOT to show up and NOT to vote. It's more important for Republicans for Blacks NOT to vote than for Blacks to vote for Republicans. After all, Blacks who vote for Republicans act like they have the right to help decide Republican policies; they're "uppitty".
Second, Republicans want to prevent likely Democratic voters, like Blacks in the USA, from registering to vote, from voting, and from having their votes counted. They come up with all sorts of ways to "protect the vote", like requiring photo ID's issued by a State DMV office, 50+ miles from a small town, only reachable by car.
6
That any African-American would vote Republican is incredulous. The modern Republican party has done everything in its power to deny the rights of African-Americans to vote (see the reprehensible actions of the current Republican party in Florida). They may think trump is different because he pardons an African-American every once in a while but his past actions and even his current ones demonstrate how racist he is.
8
Does the author's conclusion imply that the old adage - "its the economy, stupid" will bring black voters to the GOP, regardless of a feckless and demonstrably racist incumbent they will be voting for?
"Transactional Trump" will leave that subset of black voters as disaffected as ever after the election, but by then it'll be too late. See disaffected Carrier Corp employees as a reference example.
4
As a resident of Nashville, I would like to invite President Trump to stay at Mar-a-lago for the next few weeks. We do not need his presence or assistance here in Tennessee to recover from a tornado. I truly hope he and his wife just stay in their home and out of Tennessee entirely. He only causes dissension and unrest when he come to town spouting lie after lie after lie after lie. Please President Trump - stay away.
6
If African-American voters are conned by the GOP then they have only themselves to blame. All the proof I need is shown by gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts around the country. Yes, there are plenty of other proof points but that's all I need. No person of color should vote for any GOP candidate period.
6
Joe Biden has mastered the traditional means of appeasing Black voters: plenty of prayer breakfasts and gospel choirs, combined with a pipeline of government money and benefits to the Congressional Black Caucus and wealthy Black influentials. That playbook works as long as Black people don't bother to consider what happens after they cast their votes.
Once elected, Democrats sell out Black children to the teachers' unions, whose employment interests always supervene our kids' educational achievement. Affirmative action -- first designed to compensate for institutional racism -- gets transformed into "diversity," which more often than not provides it greatest benefits and protections to women and members of the LGBQT community. The benefits Blacks receive from a thriving economy are sacrificed to elite white interests like radical environmentalism, abstract inequality and identity politics. No Black people in NY actually wanted to work for Amazon or Walmart. Really? And don't even mention the Dems stance on immigration among Blacks able to speak freely.
Trump, quite smartly, is pointing this all out, and using strong Black voices like Candace Owens to explain how the politics of victimhood and meager government handouts are inferior to a growing economy, school choice and a governing ethos based upon personal freedom, agency and responsibility. If that message ever actually gets through to at least some Black voters, the Dems are in deep trouble.
7
Trump has acted like a bigot towards African Americans for his entire adult life. Now he’s going to con that group into thinking that if the Democrats are treating them respectfully but not delivering for them economically, they should support the racist who promises to make them wealthy with the same “rich people are the job creators” line of malarkey that Republicans have been asserting but not proving for forty years?
It’s actually the other way around.
Joe Biden needs to choose Stacey Abrams for VP. That will excite a lot of people.
2
Republicans know that black voters favor Democrats, which is why the GOP does all it can to suppress the black vote. Trump is simply building on standard Republican practice. He knows that his chances of winning go up when black turnout goes down. Anything that suppresses the black vote redounds to his benefit.
6
The big demographic group under the rug are Latina and Latino voters. Consider a piece regarding their influence in the election.
Blacks are a significant and important part of our electorate, and so are other folks of color.
It’s always possible to hire supporters. There are greedy unscrupulous people everywhere and others that desperate for cash. It happens.
But actual voters? Given the racial dog whistles and outright racist policies of Trump and his supporters?
I lived in the South for 30 years and never met one black person living there who would be fooled by the likes of Trump. Not for a second.
4
Yes, Trump and the entire GOP have their sights on Black Voters. But NOT in a GOOD way. It’s called Voter Suppression.
Seriously.
5
Didn't Mike Bloomberg just spend half a billion for a first place finish in American Samoa and 12 delegates?
Mr. Edsal, I know of no Democrat that isn't taking the Black vote seriously. Please. Tell me who these mythical Democrats are, because on the ground here, it's all about keeping the Black base, keep the suburban voters (which includes all kinds of people) and women that just can't stomach Trump.
They already ARE taking everything about the upcoming election seriously.
1
Trump doesn't need to convince black voters to vote for him; it is enough to convince black voters not to vote for Biden or Bernie. Reducing black turnout is a realistic goal for his campaign
1
For me, this photo recalls a similar moment captured by The Boston Globe after Deval Patrick became governor of my state. I think it was 2006. That photo was filled with unity and energy. Patrick is standing, closely surrounded by his black supporters, many hands reaching out to touch him. His eyes are closed. The whole roomful of people seem deep in prayer and communion. The moment is holy, and Patrick appears to be drawing strength from the gathering.
This photo -- nothing like that.
2
Black voters are more conservative than Hispanics, they realize this economy has been good to them, believe they've been negatively impacted by immigration, and some may be looking for a benevolent master. Certainly not a natural constituency but a rich source of votes, particularly when they are they are a fundamental source of democratic strength. When it comes to votes Trump always knows what he's doing.
You can also see him going after a more natural constituency, the progressives. This is why he coddles Bernie and trashes Biden. He's anti-establishment and they're anti-status quo. 12% of progressives voted against Hillary, far more will vote against Biden.
5
The photo op should be enough for true believer in Jesus to see this man is not of the faith. These people are there because he is the president that is giving their religious institutions more power than the constitution allows.
He is a deceiver that the bible cautions us about.
10
I would like to say that it will never happen. But, 50 years ago, it was just as ludicrous to imagine that the Republicans would ever attract a substantial proportion of the white working class.
3
I know this is a serious piece and that Trump is a master showman, but really, that picture could be an SNL skit.
10
Stacy Abrams must be on the Democratic ticket regardless who the eventual nominee is.
1
Very long column, elongated mainly by all the many caveats, that amounts to "never mind."
People of color who vote for trump stun me. I see why white voters, particularly a certain segment of them, would—he serves their interests. But how colonized must you be as a POC to support a man and administration like this?
6
@NV Agree. The same goes for women and members of the LGBT community. Neither the trump nor the republicans have their interests at heart.
3
All the Democrats have to do is show clips of Trump badmouthing President Obama, not to mention just about every black Congressperson, particularly the women, and taking credit for all the good Obama did for our country. I think that will cut across all the other noise.
6
Trump has supporters of all backgrounds, but I think most of the African American can see him for what he is!
4
There is a significant wild card to add to this story. Should Biden be the nominee, you'd have to think Obama will come out in support and he has huge influence with the black voters. My guess is that if Biden was good enough for Obama, he is good enough for black voters to rally around.
4
Politics and governance should be about ideas, not "data-based" strategy around who you want to vote and who you don't want to vote. I'm beyond disappointed in our democracy. The supposedly enlightened data nerds and the backward-thinking racists are equals in sinking our ship.
1
It never ceases to amaze me how gullible people are to Trump .... especially evangelical Christians. He is playing them — as he has done with blue collar workers, farmers, and many more disaffected groups.
2
Biden will pick Abrams as his running mate and there will not be enough prayer sessions to help 45 when that happens.
1
Oh my. The whole notion that there could be significant gains for Trump among Black voters is frankly, laughable. Even if he were not so appalingly ignorant of any history that includes Black people, and even if he had not spent years and saturated media with racist attacks on President Obama, even if his record of housing discrimination in New York didn't have its stench, and even if he'd not called for the death penalty for Black men proven innocent of crime, he sits upon a Republican Party that has since the 1965 Voting Rights Act built its electoral success on racial resentment, race-baiting, voter suppression and antipathy toward civil rights enforcement. There will be those Black folk who will continue to knock on the Republican door when the doormat reads, "Not Home for You." But almost all of us want Trump's brand of Republican power reduced to dust.
10
I wouldn't worry one bit. Joe Biden has a powerful message for African American voters:
"... - look, there's institutional segregation in this country. And from the time I got involved, I started dealing with that.
Red-lining banks, making sure that we are in a position where — look, you talk about education.
...
It’s crazy.
The teachers are — I'm married to a teacher. My deceased wife is a teacher. They have every problem coming to them.
We have — make sure that every single child does, in fact, have 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds go to school.
School. Not daycare. School.
We bring social workers in to homes and parents to help them deal with how to raise their children. It's not want they don't want to help. They don't — they don't know quite what to do.
Play the radio, make sure the television — excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, the — the — make sure that kids hear words.
A kid coming from a very poor school — a very poor background will hear 4 million words fewer spoken by the time they get there."
2
An Oral History of Trump’s Bigotry:
His racism and intolerance have always been in evidence; only slowly did he begin to understand how to use them to his advantage.--The Atlantic, June 2019.
http://bit.ly/2PJcz3h
3
It is incumbent on the Democratic nominee to run with a vice-presidential candidate who is a Person of Color, preferably a woman, and, if it is Biden, preferably a progressive.
2
I listen to Hannity for the entertainment value. He has been beating the drum every day about “record low unemployment for African Americans.” Why, he even had two black people on his show yesterday—what a guy! Although I read somewhere that Trump’s intent is not to attract black voters, which is unlikely, but rather to ease the conscience of suburban voters who don’t want to think of themselves as voting for a racist. “Look, he took a picture with black people! Ergo, Trump is not a racist!”
Why not ?
For years the Black community has been virtually forgotten, even by the country's first Black President.
I have no doubt that President Trump has improved the lives Black live more than any President since LBJ.
7
@Tom ,Retired Florida Junkman
Why not?
Because, we, African Americans, don’t vote for racists. And donald trump is a racist.
1
In 2016 Donald Trump said to black voters, "What have you got to lose?"
After three years of Trump's decidedly immoral and arguably criminal reign of error, I suspect people now see quite clearly what they have to lose, and have lost with DJT.
Trump wooing black voters in 2020?
The mind boggles.
2
It’s the closet Trump voters you got a watch out for. There is an awful lot of them out there.
3
The photograph is priceless. I cannot imagine a better image of credulity abetting narcissism.
9
Cat got Ben Carson’s tongue? Would he be able to drum up some black votes for his buddy?
But seriously, Ben just seems like he enjoys collecting our taxpayer paycheck for doing nothing - either for housing or medicine.
Doesn’t say much for Trump - picking very minimal black individuals to run his cabinet or other entities. Wouldn’t we say that might be indicative of Donald Trump’s demeanor regarding blacks? He’s had plenty of opportunities.
Now he’s praying with them...what a guy.
6
Trump makes regular folk feel heard in a Washington that neglects them. It may be impossible for Trump to shake the “racist” tag, especially with media reinforcement. But the Trump proposition that connects with Midwest white folk could resonate with black folk as well. Trump certainly paid attention to them at his State of the Union. Minus “blacks vote Democrat,” Trump’s policies and performance align with many black Americans’ interests.
4
trump’s tactics are more disgraceful than ever.
Pandering to a group with lies to either gain votes or, more likely, to suppress them to gain an advantage is so obvious that the practice should be outlawed.
He has no intention of keeping promises. It’s all a ploy to get votes through manipulation.
Of course, if you like liars, there’s no question that he’s at the top of the list.
128
@Steve Ell a tiger cannot change its stripes.
1
I have always thought that African American voters are very good at spotting a phony. They were in 2016 and I believe that will still be the case in this election too.
5
The DNC thinks 2020 is business as usual.
Their puppet is winning the races, the progressives(thanks to Warren not dropping out), failed to win last night.
But this is far from over.
Just a hint - Latins went for Sanders.
Which also means Latins do not back Biden. Why should they? 8 years of broken promises by Biden when he was the VP, and he thinks Latins will just up and line up for more Change we can be sold on, he has another thing coming.
See you at the ballot DNC's golden child. This is far from your race to win.
1
If memory serves, one in eight black men who voted chose Trump in 2016, while nearly all black women who voted voted for Clinton. This op-ed conveniently glosses over that significant gender gap by focusing on blacks who didn’t vote at all. But among blacks who did vote, the message was clear—there is a significant number of black men whose sex is a larger predictor of their vote than their race or class. I’d like to read an analysis about why that is. I’d like to shine a spotlight on the male supremacist views among men of color.
4
Horrifying photograph.
Prayer will not "heal" in this case.
7
Good luck with that Donald considering last night’s results.
2
“Who’s your candidate”, I asked my African American friend at the gym.
“Anybody but Trump “, he said.
12
Trump has been sued for housing discrimination and went on a campaign to crucify the wrongly accused "Central Park 5".
Weird picture with Diamond and Sil, notwithstanding, none of the black people I know would vote for him.
7
What that picture shows me is that some people are so desperate for a little face time that they will stand next to anyone, no matter how vile.
4
@redweather
Yes. Set up a camera and the seamless self promoters will show up.
People are fervently praying in the room, but our Donny Boy is coldly staring straight down the barrel of the camera.
That is the single-most, frightening photograph of a man sitting behind that desk, that I have ever seen.
-C
12
Trump is playing Thee Card Monty with the Black vote and shame on anyone who falls for it.
Trump spent the better half of the 70’s in real estate making it impossible for Black people in New York to rent in Trump apartments. “Blacks brought down property values and the only way to stop it was to denote a black rental application with a “C” to insure they didn’t get approved. The C stood for COLORED. The Trumps were fined twice for discrimination in the housing market. Not once, Twice....
Now while the GOP is working overtime to suppress black and brown voters, Trump is selling Woke Tee shirts. The message however is a little confusing. Who is Woke? Trump or the Black voters who are supporting him? At a recent rally Trump informed the crowd that African Americans, (not colored people) prefer to be called Black. Woke indeed!
Does Trump also know that when asking for the Black vote, it would be very woke of him to not make voting a daunting task?
Is Trump woke to the fact that curtailing the time to vote or outright closing polling stations in black and brown communities is equivalent to his “C” of the 70’.
No one is woke.
4
there is no University of California located in San Jose. there is a quite good California State University in San Jose, but it is not one of the he of the more elite UC campuses.
So campaigning to win voters from the Democrats' private reserve of guaranteed votes is now "voter suppression"?
The DNC truly does feel entitled to the black vote. Maybe that attitude is the reason for low black turnout in 2016.
5
Trump is Brilliant. Goes in for the Kill. Trump sees Biden's following for what it is, old and white. Familiar? Biden is Republican Light and if Trump can siphon the Black Vote, then Democrats will become totally unrecognizable. Biden would be extremely wise to hold out a hand to Sanders today. They need to work in tandem from now on.......
2
Trump thinks that he can bamboozle African Americans the same way he has fooled so many white Americans--tell them a fairy tale that is complete hogwash. But black Americans have endured centuries of lies and betrayals and not many will fall for it. Especially since there is well-documented racism in Trump's history.
https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racist-racism-history
10
The photo says it all: “Oh, Lord, please overlook this man’s lifelong history and soul-less glare. Grant him, Lord, the human qualities that have evaded him since childhood: honesty, compassion, empathy and decency. And if it be your will not to change him, then protect us, Lord, from his terrible wrath and vengeance.” Amen.”
10
Donald J. Trump doesn’t look comfortable in that picture even though he needs that company for his re-election. How can African Americans fall for this racist is beyond my reckoning.
10
White and Black voters only need to recall that Trump, his father, and his son-in-law have a history of denying African Americans housing in NYC and Baltimore. Not to mention his comments about African countries (i.e., "shitholes). Say what you want, he cares little about the plight of African Americans, Latinos or anyone unless they can do something for him. And by the way what has this administration done with respect to social justice or criminal justice, a rhetorical question.
6
@Horseshoe Crab
Kim Kardashian is totally on the criminal justice thing.
How many black people has Trump placed into positions of responsibility? Ben Carson is the only one I can think of. And what has Carson accomplished to improve housing in the U.S.? Anything?
9
The look on Trump's face in your photo speaks volumes. Looks like he is right into the photo op. Or not.
1
'African American voters see the racism in the Republican Party, and in Trump. He has tried to overturn every accomplishment of the Obama presidency because he hates him, as do Republicans in general. This is one reason African Americans are supporting Joe Biden - he was close to Obama and repudiates Trump and his racism.
6
I must admit that I am baffled that anyone by now... 3 years into this travesty of a presidency...... would be persuaded to support this man. After all the up close and real time lies, bigotry and hateful rhetoric anyone would think “you know what, I think I’ll give Trump a second chance”. By now, the evidence is overwhelming that his lack of intellect, integrity and self centered agenda should disqualify him from anyone’s consideration. The only appropriate place in history for this man is in the dustbin of history. Vote blue no matter who!
11
There's an easy way to counter this. Show video of Trump just standing there while his supporters chanted "Send her back!" at Ilhan Omar. Show screenshots of his tweets knowingly calling lawmakers of color "savages." That's the real Trump.
12
One look at trump’s face in this picture says it all.
A self serving, morally bankrupt conman surrounded by a group of his manipulated followers.
12
Yes he is running after the black vote, how cynical can you get? His thinking based on the theory that throw money and promises out there and who knows what will happen.
3
@DS
As proven just yesterday, money does not work as much as people think it does. Bloomberg just proved that.
1
Stacey Abrams for Veep. Problem solved.
5
The photo says it all. How could he be more disrespectful to a roomful of supposed supporters while they pray?
I watched this 'press conference' somewhat unwillingly while on a rowing machine, too lazy to change the channel during my workout. The so-called POTUS was at his snake oil salesman's best and literally claimed that the coronavirus will, "like a miracle, just suddenly vanish."
8
It is a fact that Southern blacks are more conservative than your average northern white voter. They are against open borders - sorry the left wing of the Democratic party makes it impossible say Democrats are not pro open border, and gay rights. The economy has been very good to blacks during this expansion, it can't be denied. Trump is going to win all the Sothern States Biden won last night. Trump may also get 15% of the black vote in Northern cities. Trump wins.
8
Write in Michelle Obama for president and see what happens to those numbers...
Black votes matter. Remember the Central Park 5.
6
Tentacles is the correct term.
Voter suppression and ridiculously long lines in Republican states are no way to endear yourself to voters of color. What is the Republican Party's plan to increase access to voting? If they don't have one and plan more of the same we saw in TX yeste4rday, that tells you everything you need to know.
2
I am currently reading a biography on Frederick Douglass; and the dysfunctional relationships that existed at the time between blacks and whites; because of greed, money, and power.
The photograph that accompanies this article illustrates to me that although the times have changed ; the dysfunction continues...
9
Thomas Edsall has made a cottage industry of telling us how Trump can win, how he has garnered so much support, etc. It all boils down to the same thing: people can talk themselves into anything if appeals from power hit some emotional pressure point, or if they believe it does not matter anyway. Many people are misinformed, uninformed, do not care or believe the lies. We have allowed significant constraints to be established that negate or diminish our voting rights and our human rights. The bottom line is that we are no longer a rational populace, do not realize how much we are controlled and manipulated by power and money and thus, are likely not to have any semblance of representative democracy in the near future. If we have one now. Major problems will not be solved, lies and fear will prevail and there will be anguish.
3
He has insulted people of color on a daily basis since he decided to be a candidate (that we know of anyway). He learned this at his father's knee. That picture is an insult. Anyone that believes he is sincere is a fool. Good luck with that Donald.
21
@Deb Paley
I grew up in an evangelical household and it was always a requirement that one had to close their eyes during prayer as a sign of reverence for the communication taking place with the Creator. There is no hint of humility or reverence on the part of the President in that picture. I find the picture jarring even though I'm no longer of the faith.
11
Promises Made, Promises Kept: sentencing reform-no, Mexico pays for wall-no, infrastructure jobs-no, better and cheaper health insurance-no, tax cuts aimed at workers-no, listen to military leadership-no and eliminate national debt-no.
25
December's 25K cash giveaway by a Trump campaign affiliation in Cleveland, attended by administration officials, at which a "nonprofit founded by Trump allies" did the cash equivalent of tossing paper towels out to the poorest of our nation's poor in our nation's 2nd poorest city, illustrates the cynicism involved in putting Trump's "tentacles" out into low-income communities of color in America. The so-called Urban Revitalization Coalition planned another one for this week, this time handing out $50.000 at a downtown Cleveland shopping mall, but the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor has interceded with an investigation of the group, citing anti-bribery laws. And so it goes.
12
The purpose of Trump spending money reaching out to black voters isn't to actually woo them, or to keep them from voting. The purpose is to provide a faintly plausible explanation for the election results when Trump cheats on an epic scale in November.
There will be a vast, unprecedented effort to prevent likely Democratic voters from casting ballots. There will be massive campaigns to misdirect voters, purge voters from lists, intimidate voters at voting stations, hack voting machines, etc. By spending money now is a seemingly fruitless outreach program, Trump will simply say that his campaign was a huge success after the stolen election results are questioned.
14
If black voters turn to Trump in the election, it will be because the Democrats have taken their support for granted once too often. This would be a very sad outcome.
The party that gave us landmark legislation in voting and civil rights has veered away from big ideals over the years to the extent that if Republicans had not become so extreme the two would be indistinguishable.
8
@Margo Stone
Please provide an example of Dems taking Black support for granted.
@R. K. F. Here are two: Detroit and Baltimore.
1
What I have yet to understand is why black voters favor a candidate who helped put into place a law that was guaranteed to affect them disproportionately and refused to believe the testimony of an African-American woman and allowed to be confirmed a Supreme Court justice who has done more to deny blacks their rights than any justice who didn't sit when Dred Scott or Plessy v. Ferguson were heard. Yet they disapprove of a candidate who was out protesting for their rights when he was in college.
7
@Steve
I have yet to understand why white women favor candidates that have been trying for decades to roll back their reproductive rights.
1
@Steve It boils down to one thing: beating Trump. Most black voters, especially our Boomer-aged aunties and uncles, don't think Sanders can do that. Also, a lot of us are more conservative than you may realize. If it weren't for the GOP's rampant racism, I know some of my older relatives would jump at the chance to restrict LGBT rights.
The picture which accompanies this column captures the essence of Trump's character. The people surrounding him are praying for him, invoking the blessing of God on this unrepentant libertine. Trump sits there staring off into space, undoubtedly wondering when this meaningless (to him) ritual will end.
It would be difficult to devise a more candid portrait of the disconnect between a group of devoutly religious supporters and a "leader" who never seeks to conceal his baser instincts. Edsall's otherwise astute analysis tends to obscure this aspect of Trump's identity. However much money the president's minions spend on an outreach to the black community, they cannot hide the vicious racism of a man whose lack of impulse control makes his attitudes as clear as the readout on a heart monitor.
Like many white evangelicals, some devout African Americans may overlook Trump's personal shortcomings, but his record in office speaks too loudly to gain the support of this important political minority. His only hope is that the Democrats will bungle their message so badly that a significant number of black voters will conclude that neither major party has their interests at heart.
54
@James Lee some devout African Americans may overlook Trump's personal shortcomings, but his record in office speaks too loudly to gain the support of this important political minority.
Trump's record? You mean like Prison reform, support for school choice, opportunity zones, record low black unemployment, etc.? These are achievements any 2020 Dem candidate would be proud of. Your dismissive attitude is shared by the Democratic leadership. Why would any African American vote Democrat when their vote has been taken for granted for decades?
It's widely presumed by Democrats' that their racist smears against 45 are working and believe blacks will fall in line to vote D as they have always done. There are persuasive, conservative black activists, such as Alveda King, Candace Owens, and Jack Brewer, who are making the case for 45 based on his impressive record. What are the Democrats offering?
The grip Democrats have enjoyed over the African American community will be shattered come November 3rd.
2
@James Lee
Word.
-C
@James Lee I doubt that "Diamond and Silk" are religious, unless they're part of the Church of I Have a Lot of Twitter Followers.
We had this discussion last nite at our prayer group. Based on 3 years of Trump's track record, what benefits have accrued to black citizens during the Trump regime? Was there an increase in high paying manufacturing jobs? Did our health care benefits improve and are they likely to improve if Trump eliminates ACA? Has the opioid epidemic been quelled? Are we pleased with his handling of the coronavirus? Has Trump's education secretary increased the opportunity for our kids to go to college? Using these metrics we concluded that Trump would be the wrong choice for our community and others who fit our demographics.
Concerning world events, are our sons and daughters more likely to be called to arms given Trump's belligerence with Iran? Do we have confidence in the agreement Trump is touting in Afghanistan? Are we any closer to peace with N. Korea? Using these metrics we concluded that Trump would be the wrong choice for our country.
We avoided the subject of racism because we could not find any progress towards the elimination of racism during Trump's tenure so why are some members of our community attracted to Trump? We concluded that Trump's "draw" is promise but those promises remain unfulfilled. We are no better off after 3 years nor is the rest of the working class. Therefore, we will vote accordingly.
141
@Bond
I wholeheartedly agree.
3
@Bond Your comment should be the Democratic platform that they repeat ad nauseam until Trump is voted out.
3
@Bond Promises are what con men live on and what their marks die from.
3
It has been clear from the beginning of Trump that he will sell anyone down the polluted river. He targets minorities repeatedly while soliciting them. Behind every popular right wing control is an overreach which is shocking. He gets the attention of those who choose order while creating unrest. Living in diversity has been one of the highlights of being American, myth that it is. When I moved from the white suburbs to a diverse community and began to travel, I begun to understand that life was much more profound than the block that I grew up on. Trump supports white nationalism and the dominionism (a belief which will replace the rule of law w right wing evangelicalism) while promoting himself as a redeemer. Beware of false prophets.
39
@barbara Trump supports white nationalism .
How about providing an example where the President has supported white nationalism? I realize this is a popular talking point for the mainstream media's narrative that 45 is a racist. However, I have only seen plenty of examples of him denouncing white nationalism, even though the media has refused to cover his condemnation and the many events he's held celebrating and honoring African-Americans.
3
@William Aiken
When a person has spent decades saying and doing racist things, how can they not be racist? donald trump is on record saying and doing racist things. He is a racist. Now, because he wants the African American vote, he invites a group of African Americans to the White House and takes a phony picture with them, we’re supposed to overlook his racism? The man who thought Frederick Douglass was still alive!?! The “many events he’s held celebrating and honoring African Americans “ is him pandering to AA. donald trump could not care less about African Americans. Most of us know that and will vote accordingly.
2
@William Aiken
I want to know *when* he's ever denounced white nationalism.
And, for that matter, the many events he's held celebrating and honoring African Americans.
1
African American voters had a preferred candidate in this race, and he has all but clinched the nomination.
The Clintons were not sympathetic figures. Bush was to some degree, and so is Joe. So much of the punditry refuses to acknowledge that a lot of people became unimpressed with the Clintons and their shady dealings paired with extremely poll-driven politics. Nominating soomeone seen as "decent" can go a long way.
25
I can understand not liking the Clintons because they were shady. It why turn to a guy that makes The Clinton’s looks like saints?
3
"The Trump campaign is investing more money and resources in an attempt to attract African-American voters than any Republican presidential campaign in recent memory." Translated: Trump is ramping up distribution of TRUMP GOP snake oil to make it more pervasive among or even blanket the nation's African American communities. It exhibits the same credibility framing a declaration that he was backing Jeff Sessions for the Senate in the AL primary.
16
Now the goal is to divide black voters.
32
Black voters will reject Trump resoundingly. They were fooled once ("What have you got to lose?") and are not as stupid as Trump presumes.
38
@Hamid Varzi No.....we were not "fooled once". We didn't vote for him the first time and we aren't voting for him the second time.
6
Biden is surely among the weakest, if not the weakest, of all contenders. It'll be a great mistake for the Democratic party to back him neglecting all fairness of the process and more trouble will be during November. Only party loyalty can not help any such fiercely pro-party and status-quo candidate to win any general election now. A significantly large section of American electorate are very frustrated against both the parties and that's why a total outsider like Trump got so much support among Republican supporters. Meterioratic rise of "independent" Bernie is another great example.
Both the political parties need to introspect and reform. That would never happen if Biden, surely the weakest among two front runners, is elected and been fully controlled by party and corporate establishment that basically helped erosion of trust in Democratic party and also on democracy/Congress.
Black voters in deep Red South might be the biggest asset for Biden during Primary, but those states are known to be very vulnerable in general elections.
6
@Bonku
And just how are black voters vulnerable in general elections?
Trump’s Charlottesville comments are as bad as Bloomberg’s frisking policy. Both viewed Black Americans as below human dignity.
23
@Gitanjali Bloomberg did very well among elderly black voters. It stands to reason.
@Gitanjali
Also remember how Trump mistook 3 black Congresswomen for immigrants and told them to return to their own countries. He doesn't think blacks count as real Americans.
2
This article goes to extremes to tell us why Democrats should be nervous with Trump courting the black vote, but says nothing about what Democrats are doing messaging-wise to counter the GOP narrative. I'm sure the Democrats have targeted messaging campaigns too.
4
Well, if you wanna vote for a happy, well-adjusted man, it's pretty clear from this photo that Trump's your man.
47
@Lawrence Reichard
LOL! That's hysterical! A happy, well-adjusted man? WOW--delusional is very powerful and so dangerous. Trump supporters have showed themselves in toxic Kool-Aid.
1
@Lawrence Reichard How quickly do you think the germaphobe sent that suit out for cleaning? His so-called resolute face is more likely due to anyone actually touching him. He's got to be pretty darn nervous about COVID-19 right now, regardless of anything else … since Trump only cares about Trump.
1
Attack your opponents strength is tactic #2 in the Karl Rove Handbook. Trump thinks African Americans are dumb and will fall for his lies.
22
@hal9000 You mean like lies about record black low unemployment, leading investment in opportunity zones, supporting charter schools, funding HBCs, securing the border, etc.? Those lies?
5
@Hal9000: He already had, when his campaign plea to black voters was, "what have you got to lose?" Not to mention too many black voters had been stymied via gerrymandering; being lied to at voting stations, that they didn't have proper credentials; and worse, SCOTUS repealing the portion of the Voting Rights Act, which affects minorities, naively believing "racism no longer exists..."
What good is trying to appeal to black voters, when they're being denied their right to vote, in the first place?
1
An entire new group he can lie to! I mean why discriminate?
I guess it will be good to know that he meant it when he said he believed there are many fine white supremacists as well as people of color in Charlottesville.
It's a great photo though, people praying to him. At least in his mind. I mean they can't be praying *for* him, right, he'd be bowing his head to the Lord for receiving such a blessing.
18
I suppose the lesson here is to never take anything for granted, especially the assumption that African American voters will always and automatically support a Democratic candidate in large numbers. A corollary lesson is that Democrats should not be complacent. It's hard to imagine that Trump really expects 'the blacks', as he often refers to them, to support him, so it's more likely that his primary objective will be voter suppression. So, again, another reason for the Democratic candidate to not take anything for granted.
I have noticed that a few have commented on the photo that accompanies this op-ed. The laying on of hands by those in the room may have been sincere - or perhaps an effort to get Trump to 'see the light' - but the hateful scowl on Trump's face says everything.
24
If I am Bernie or AOC, the day after Election Day I am changing my registration from Dem to the new Progressive Party, and letting everyone know that next Presidential election that party will run independent of the Democratic Party, and would "release" their voters only if Progressive ideas and needs are part of the Dem platform.
When Pat Robertson ran as an independent he cost the Republican Party the election but ever since, Fundamentalist Christianity is a major part of what the Republicans trumpet.
National Health Care just isn't possible under the present structure.
If you think Bernie is getting a fair deal from the national media, spend a few hours watching MSNBC or CNN, who now have the great majority of commenters and invited guests loudly mocking Bernie and his followers.
Hugh
13
@Hugh Massengill
I believe you may well be right. It seems that the concept Biden and the others who have come out for him of compromise is that Sanders supporters should give up everything that they believe and accept that nothing will be done about income inequality, very little done about climate change (mustn't upset those fracking people), and accept that a public option is all that can be done to improve our healthcare system.
The Biden message seems to be that yes, things were bad under Obama but that shouldn't matter as things are worse under Trump.
1
@Hugh Massengill
" letting everyone know that next Presidential election that party will run independent of the Democratic Party, and would "release" their voters only if Progressive ideas and needs are part of the Dem platform."
You left out the unspoken part of the threat: "and Republican fascists will win the election because their opponents are squabbling."
1
MSNBC, CNN, etc, all said Biden was finished. Bernie got a fair deal from voters. That’s why Biden got more votes. Period.
Black men and women should remember Donald Trump speaking of "Fine People" walking with white supremacists and Neo Nazis in Charlotsville or that according to Time.com nearly 20% of Trump fans think freeing the slaves was a bad Idea. I hope that this and the enforcement of David Duke, the former grand wizard, makes all black people ponder what a vote for Donald Trump means.
102
People who read these comments boxes regularly know I have been writing about the same thing for three years now--Hillary's loss in 2016 was directly attributable to the low turnout of African American male voters in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, Milwaukee, Racine, Detroit, Flint, and the North Carolina Piedmont, at least as compared with the turnout for Obama in 2008/12.
Now, of course, there was a very large voter suppression/social media disinformation campaign that contributed to this. And the DNC should be putting that Bloomberg and other money into on the ground outreach, and text chains and phone banks and carpools, rather than mostly TV ads.
But one thing hinted at here that bears discussing is that turnout is still to some extent tribal; the opportunity to elect the first African American President was a big factor in the 2008/12 numbers. It's the reason that every Democratic contender should have Stacey Abrams' number on vice-presidential speed-dial.
Not that there aren't other ticket balancers--Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Julian Castro--who would be helpful. But Stacey would certainly put Georgia and North Carolina in play, and perhaps even Indiana. And her experience with voter suppression tactics, along with her excellent bully pulpit skills, are certainly not something Trump and company want to face.
68
Stacey Abrams is the most overrated, flash in the pan politician we've seen in some time. Also, the contrast between Ms. Abrams and Mr. Biden will be so comical that it would hurt his chances at a general election win.
16
@Ryan
"Stacey Abrams is the most overrated, flash in the pan politician we've seen in some time"
I would think that Trump deserves that description. He would have disappeared 3 years ago if a constitutional flaw had not handed him the presidency.
6
@Glenn Ribotsky
How will any of those people you name get Sanders voters to support the ticket.
5
ANY American can observe Trump's actions and words of division and distrust for the "other" of the moment. Although these attacks are disappointing and frightening, a few are okay with that. However, most Americans are smart enough logically and morally to believe that the real America is better in all ways than the America that Trump believes in. African Americans will not support Trump to any great degree because in Trumps America, People of Color are and will be less. America is a place that grows and evolves, and that slow and unequal maturation is maddening and wrong often, but progress of any degree towards equality and fairness is happening. That pace and more importantly that decency and respect is not to be found in Trump or the GOP.
23
More than Edsall’s learned speculations, that marvelous picture below the headline pinpoints the area of real concern. Those are black fundamentalist ministers laying prayerful hands on the improbable Cyrus. Well, he actually looks more like a Borgia pope receiving obeisance from loyal cardinals—but you get the idea.
If there is an opening for Trump into the black community, it will likely be through the churches. White fundamentalists are nearly 100 percent for Trump and are trying to coax black fundamentalists into the fold.
The beauty of the apocalyptic narrative is that it proudly defies common sense. God has inscrutably chosen this horrible being as his divine instrument. If this counterintuitive narrative gains traction in the black churches, anything could happen —including an electoral shift in Trump’s direction.
36
@woofer
"God has inscrutably chosen..."
That puts in a nutshell why fundamentalists are such a threat to the country. They worship a god that acts on whims. They don't expect his commands to make sense but obey them anyway (when, in reality, most of "his commands" were invented by politicians) . "Theirs is not to question why, theirs is but to do and die." It is an attitude antithetical to democracy.
1
@woofer
Outside of Paula White the black church will never support trump in any meaningful way
These two US Supreme Ct decisions should be required of anyone who doesn’t understand how the GOP works to suppress minorities and their right to vote in 2020:
Shelby v. Holder (2013)
San Antonio ISD v. Rodríguez (1973)
18
If this proves anything it is that African American voters are not a monolith with which one popular snack-oil salesman can have his way. As much as I'd like to shake some of my collective to see the light, I have to admit that there is credence to the notions that both parties have let us down in big ways. In my lifetime it has been "promise us anything" to get our vote - after that, it's business as usual. Yes, things have changed - not always for the better, but I write this as a thankful recipient of opportunity and promises made and kept after Los Angeles Watts Uprising. I grew up in a working middle-class family in Compton, California. My 1969 high school class was graduated with more than a million dollars in scholarships and grants given to those who would go on to create a better, if not happier, way of life than their parents before them. My parents divorced which meant my college attendance depended on any money from my summer job, college loans (then very affordable) and state grants. At the time both democrats and republicans could be made to see what happens when large swaths of citizens are cut off from jobs either by the residual evil of Jim Crow and the "soft" racism of white liberals.
This new GOP has moved in retrograde - displaying the old - promise them anything - just get their vote approach. Sadly, there are blacks who will accept the promises overlooking the hollowed-out package in which they are wrapped.
70
@Gwen
If you really think "both parties have let us down" equally, then you need a serious history lesson. Start with the GOP-controlled Supreme Court throwing out the Voting Rights Act and the GOP governor of Georgia purging black voters to beat Stacy Abrahms ... and move on back from there.
33
@Gwen Beautifully said. It saddens me that all races cannot see past the skin to the humanity within.
4
It is evident to me that the Republican party is not interested in educating those who can little afford college. Trump’s bone to the single Mom of a charter school tuition grant was just a stunt. How about the millions of other children who need a good education. Making college affordable by low interest loans and improving public primary education with federal dollars would be a step in the right direction. Until Congress and the Executive branch step up to the plate on education, Trump can promise anything. His appointing Betsy DuVos shows how much he doesn’t care.
12
Is anyone else as taken aback by that photo as I am? There's something deeply disturbing with every aspect of it.
I wish the DNC power brokers were more focused right now on beating Trump than they have been on beating Sanders. Maybe then we'd have a fighting chance against this man. I don't see Biden having the skills or stamina to do it. Scary.
80
@avrds
I don't understand the DNC power brokers at all. For two years,
2016-2018, the Democrats were unprecedentedly weak, with Republicans in charge of every power center in government. Even after the midterms Democrats have been consistently defeated by Republican trickery -- Barr censoring the Mueller report, the Senate blocking evidence of Trump's criminality during impeachment.
And yet the Democrats are acting as if they're on a roll. Dropping support for Obamacare ( which won them the House in 2018) and replacing it with an untested idea "Medicare for All". I recently read a laundry of proposed Democratic bills. At least two of them government funding of abortions and the "Freedom of Choice Act" -- failed back during the Clinton administration where Democrats were much more powerful than they are now.
1
@Charlesbalpha So you prefer government by dictat? This is essentially what you’ve had under Trump. The Congress has become irrelevant with four hundred bills including ones to protect OUR VOTE in November, sitting on McConnell’s desk.
Do you honestly think that another four years of this mini-dictatorship will help Trump be better? A vote for Trump is a vote for Republicans is a vote for economic and civil loss of Liberty.
Like the lobster in the pot some of us have become so used to Presidential outrageous and obnoxious and anti-Constitutional behavior that we don’t even recognize it anymore.
5
@avrds is spot on ... Trump has a completely disgusting countenance ... but then, the man is wholly despicable.
So, that image is true to his character.
Politics over the past few years has surprised me in many ways, but I am still in no way prepared to accept the notion of more than a small percentage of black Americans voting for Trump.
I predict, too, that we will see a Biden-Abrams ticket in the fall, and then ALL bets are off. If any of you are unfamiliar with Ms. Abrams (who came darn close to winning the governorship here in GA even with her opponent literally running the race), you should get to know her. She is as impressive as anyone on the political stage today.
So yeah: Biden-Abrams 2020. There is the excitement right there. On a single ticket you have a return to decency and competence and a bridge to the future. Sign me up today.
15
Black voters are, sadly, pawns on both sides. However, when African American businesses build the political infrastructure, the African American community responds with clarity and purpose.
3
One could make a very effective campaign ad using nothing but Trump’s actual words to show how awful he is. Why doesn’t the Democratic Party start this now?
13
@Steve Feldmann
I think you're describing Hillary Clinton's commercials in 2016.
2
@Steve Feldmann
Exactly! Just string together a few hundred actual clips of Trump's most perverse rhetoric.
@Steve Feldmann They already have by playing a snippet of the President's comments on Charlottesville and taking them out of context, when he said, quote, "Nazis and White Nationalists need to be totally condemned." Even though the Fine People on both sides hoax has been completely debunked by the actual video and transcript, it's still widely believed thanks to the fake news media.
2
After the stunning Super Tuesday victories by Biden, the Democratic party won't have to worry about the black vote. Sanders isn't going to be the nominee. Last night was a disaster for his campaign. He was exposed as a deeply flawed candidate. His support in the black community is very weak. Mainstream African American voters won't vote for Democratic Socialism. That point can't be emphasized enough. President Sanders is a progressive fantasy that will never happen. Black voters don't want a revolution. They want someone who can beat Trump & steady the ship of state. Biden can do this. You have to be blind to not be able to read these tea leaves. Black voters are rejecting progressivism but endorsing centrism. What does that tell you? There's no progressive majority in the U.S. & never will be. The numbers are simply not there. There certainly is no progressive Electoral College coalition in the U.S. that could get to the needed 270 votes. Biden will bring the African American voters we lost in 2016 back into the fold. Because of that, he will win in 2020.
9
@Bill Brown Super Tuesday only underscored the DNC's commitment to the status quo. Sanders is not a "deeply flawed candidate" but rather one whose agenda is unacceptable to corporate hegemony. To prevent a replay of 2016, the DNC needs to devise some way to acknowledge and include the extensive progressive movement Sanders represents.
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@Bill Brown
It is a good thing progressives aren't nearly as invisible as you seem to think they are. We would not have 8 hr/5day work weeks, safety regulations, nor Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps.
Progress is NEVER made by conservatives. The founding of this country was a radical act by progressives.
5
@Roger How exactly is the DNC excluding "the extensive progressive movement Sanders represents."? Sanders, a registered Independent, conveniently becomes a Democrat every 4 years in order to run for President, and the DNC allows him to do this and somehow they are a roadblock to progressive movements? Last night Democratic voters chose the candidates they wanted. There was no conspiracy. You can't blame the DNC for Sanders lackluster performance and inability to attract new voters. This is democracy in action. The voters decided not the DNC.
1
Look, when it comes down to it, the hate factor on Trump is way too high. He has as much chance as flipping these voters as Hillary did with Republicans back in 2016. Not happening. Looks like a landslide against Trump and the entire Republican Party to me, especially when they get done botching the Coronavirus pandemic. They could not even win dogcatcher.
11
In 2016, pollsters and pundits (and many of the rest of us) underestimated support for Trump, in no small part because they shamed anyone who dared express support for, or agreement with any of his policies. Ironically, Chris Matthews was one of the first people to acknowledge this after Trump's 2016 victory.
While the majority of African-American voters, especially those who are women 65 and up will support the presumptive Democratic nominee, be assured that in 2020 the sympathy Trump and support for him will be underestimated among working and middle class African-American men.
10
The problem here is that the President should have been courting not just blacks but all American voters from the day he took office. Both he and the Republican Party have been following a "divide and concur" policy that is going to come back to haunt them. The President completely forgot he is the President of all Americans, not just those who voted for him.
8
I am re-reading These Truths: A History of the US. I just don’t understand what happened to separation of church and state. I do not like seeing these picture. And even worse the hypocrisy of the Christians criticizing the Middle East when they there in this picture are doing the same thing.
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@Calleen Mayer
Apparently fundamentalists rarely voted until the 1970s, and so their was an unwritten concordat about the role of religion Then the Democrats used legal trickery to protect abortion, and the fundamentalists got involved in politics. While the Democrats kept their heads in the ground, the Republicans tailored their policies to satisfy the new voters. That's what happened to the separation of church and state.
@Calleen Mayer
We are a secular nation with freedom of religion. We should also be free from religion in politics.
I love Edsall but this OpEd was premature in light of last night’s Democratic Presidential Super Tuesday Primary results. Biden has African American voters behind his candidacy. This may be the type of Democratic Party unification needed to defeat Trump. If Biden can find a Latino version of Clyburn that would be very helpful in the effort to defeat Trump. If the majority of African American voters will continue to turn out for Biden he has a good shot at the nomination. The GOP & Trump will do what the can to undermine the election of their opponent, but voters are catching on to their schemes and I believe that African Americans get this.
4
Wonderful.
No lessons learned from 2016.
Good luck with selling an ethically challenged candidate, with a deep history of selling out the Democratic base to special interest, and no thoughtful plans, zip, zero, nada on how to take this country forward.
6
@guy veritas
At the moment I think the priority should be stopping Trump from taking the country backwards.
Voting is not just a right; it's the civic duty of each citizen. If you wave that right by staying home, you deserve the president you get and you forfeit any right to complain.
4
There will always be black Americans and other minorities voting against their own interests. This is not a new *thing*.
I am not referring to voting across party lines; voters regularly do that. I am talking about a segment of black Americans who tend to believe that once established financially and socially, they are beyond the concerns about systemic inequities that still plague this country.
I have spoken to upwardly mobile- and barely-making-it minorities state they will vote for the "Money Party", that is, Republicans; believing Democrats want to keep them "On The Plantation"- having no real awareness of what that means or what they mean.
Of course, in the case of Donald Trump- blacks who do support him are not *confused* about who he is and what he stands for; they simply do not care. Believing- somehow, his riches are going to rub off on them. The likes of the "Diamond and Silks" and Paris Dennards are cartoon caricatures or opportunism. Even Tim Scott- a traditional Southern Republican, looks mighty befuddled trying to maintain composure in close proximity to Trump.
Donald Trump will garner a number of *black votes* and votes from other minorities. But it won't be because they truly believe he is good for the nation- or themselves. And it certainly won't be enough to make a difference:
To write an opinion piece as if blacks voting for Donald Trump is somehow a game-changer is rather illusory.
3
The photograph attached to this article captures all anyone needs to know about Trumps relationship with people of color and religion.
He could not care less about either.
242
I'm deeply unsettled by the insanity of this photograph, of this strange moment captured atop the Oval Office table.
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@For the Love of Trees
That photograph will haunt me forever.
Not only the 'laying on of hands' but the look on Trump's face.
Terrifying
NOT my president
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@For the Love of Trees Trump’s facial expression and body language clearly convey that he is not comfortable with the situation.
16
For anyone to think three years of Trump's racism is going to be overlooked in the next eight months is ridicules. It is insulting to people of color to think they are that gullible. Bloomberg thought he could erase his history with people of color with money and a tepid apology. The disdain for Trump in communities of color is so thick you could cut it with a knife.I think turnout in communities of color in November is going to be off the charts.
28
The lead picture says a thousand words... While his guests are clearly deep in thoughtful prayer... For the country... For reform... For the president himself... Trump stares on lost in his thoughts that this is, always, about him.
Voters of all colors, genders, creeds, and beliefs, please don’t listen to the words written on the notecards or teleprompter... Instead, focus on the man’s and his woeful administration’s actions these past 3 years and decide for yourself on whether he’s fit to serve as your president for another 4 years.
I think you already know the answer.
26
The solution is this: Democrats can never ever run a ticket that doesn’t include a minority or a woman. So Kamala Harris anyone?
The reason African Americans came out in ‘08 and ‘12 was because they saw an African American man at the top of the ticket.
I always say that if Hillary Clinton had chosen Cory Booker (Tim Kaine? Really?) as her running mate, we wouldn’t be having these conversations.
Democrats must come to terms with the diversity that is their party’s strength. It’s not that difficult really. Just make sure you listen to the people who make up said diversity and make sure you do the things they ask you to do.
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@RodA the places Hillary Clinton lost wasn't because of her running mate, its because she took them for granted. Do you really think Corey Booker would have made a difference in rural PA? People seem to keep forgetting that Clinton, who was pretty unpopular, won the popular vote by over 3 million. And hate to break this to you but Kamala Harris wasn't even that popular in places like South Carolina when she was running.
17
@Jason Kratz Corey Booker would not have made a difference in rural PA. But there is also an urban part to PA. He most certainly could have helped with African American turnout in Philadelphia which was much lower than it was in 2012.
11
@RodA
I understand what you wrote, but please don't denigrate another Senator. Tim Kaine has been a hard-working, passionate person who has worked as hard as anyone decrying the outrage of the Trump presidency. I see him with his sleeves rolled up, working with dignity, honesty and intelligence. That being said, it is now time for a black man or woman to be placed working in aa senior position in the White House, right next to the President. But Tim Kaine is one of the very good people we have in the Senate, not fair or kind to disparage him.
24
None of the academic and other researchers quoted in this article pick up on the early mention in this article of the effect that more conservative values on immigration, abortion, gay rights, etc may have on the turnout and choices of some segments of African American voters. A great deal of the article is devoted to opinions about the President and the Republican Party, in particular their perceived racist views. Surely this presents a dilemma for many African American voters? Wouldn't conservative values mitigate against voting for (for example) openly pro late-term abortion supporters? Could this lead to a stay-at-home preference on voting day? Or even to support for yes-racist but anti-abortion Republican candidates? Biden was rewarded today with a large pro-Biden turnout in most of the super Tuesday states. But are there many more African American voters in the wings who are waiting ultimately to cast their vote for a Republican president, or who have already decided not to vote at all? Have Democratic strategists examined these issues seriously?
4
"“Trump’s outreach is not about picking up a significant number of African-American voters but to message to black voters that Trump may not be as bad as they believe,” Dowe wrote by email."
And this "outreach" will be amplified by Russian bots. But one key thing is missing in all this political analysis: voter suppression.
It played significantly in 2016 and will so again, because it works. Watch for more voter registration purges in midwestern states, and sudden problems with voting equipment, changing rules and poll times, just to keep African Americans off base.
I'd be far more concerned that African Americans might stay home if voting becomes too much of a hassle than if they suddenly favored Trump.
27
@ChristineMcM Voter suppression is clearly an issue. I’m hopeful that people who may have skipped 2016 will hang in there and vote in 2020.
6
Thank you for this importan story. Now if we cd get Bloomberg to spend his $ on addressing these issues.
And of course, if Zuckerberg & Ms. Lean In would please stop allowing the corruption of our democracy (w disinformation sowed by foreign countries and those inside) with outright lies on Facebook.
USA > Facebook stock price. It should be.
Cilla, do something about it.
5
As a Black voter I'll say this. Donald Trump will never succeed in getting the African-American vote, no matter how much money, how many lies and how many photo-ops he stages.
His dye is cast.
He had his chance to do something for a community he once asked "What do you have to lose?" by voting for him.
It just so happens, a lot. And the list is a long one.
Whether it's the remarks he made at Charlottesville, the hateful and disparaging comments he's made about esteemed African-American legislators like the late Elijah Cummings or Maxine Waters, or the hateful travel ban he's imposed on some nations with large Black populations like most recently, Nigeria, or his long history of racially insensitive comments and actions -- Donald Trump has done nothing, if not shown his contempt for people of color.
And nothing is going to change that now.
470
@N. Smith Agree wholeheartedly but you left out nominating judges to the federal bench who are not "friends" of the 14th Amendment, the Voting Rights Act and other Civil Rights legislation. They also consistently refuse to say whether they accept Brown v. Bd. of Education as settled constitutional law. Even if he had done none of the things you pointed out, the hostile judiciary could poison our futures for generations.
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@N. Smith If Trump can hoodwink rural whites into thinking that he will do anything to help them, then it is plausible he can do the same to a few percentage of black voters.
12
@Paul Gamble
As I said the list is a long one.
19
He's in for a shock. And we, for a treat.
7
Tentacles? Really? Having lived in Maryland for most of my life, the only political tentacles I've experienced are the Maryland Legislature's in my wallet. A political strategy to be more inclusive shouldn't be demonized, particularly when its an attempt to break down the walls of the liberal's identity politics. The Democrats have taken the votes of too many groups for granted in past elections. Those groups represent a target rich environment. All's fair.......
21
@Mike Nothing wrong with a strategy of inclusion.
Except, as in this case, when it is coming from a man with a long history (excuse me) long family history of actual racist animosity towards minorities communities. Especially the black community.
Trump isn't trying to "break down the walls of the liberal's identity politics," he's trying a new tactic to exploit the black community, whom he otherwise has utter disdain for.
27
@Haef
Please check out the first time Trump on a magazine cover. It was about housing discrimination.
7
@Mike
Problem: Trump is not using ' political strategy to be more inclusive'. He is lying again, to convince Blacks he is the answer to a better life, when he IS their problem. Anyone who listens to Trump should remember: he will say ANYTHING to get what he wants, then turn his back.
6
It’s a given: in the coming months we can expect a nauseating overload of lies, manipulations, deceits, any and all nefarious means of deception coming from Trump and his rats. It will be our job, as Democrats and as wise journalists, to pound the pavement for the truth. Some reverse psychology might be nice too. For one, don’t hang on Trump’s every word. Pull back, watch him crash and go in for the kill. His supporters are no longer shocked by his behavior but countering that with Biden’s all American goodness and sense of humor goes a long way to reaching the core. Let’s work together.
17
Trump is happy to use black and brown people as props, but his white base knows how ridiculous that is. To me this is similar to Log Cabin gay men who vote republican to protect their wealth and sacrifice bigger concepts like gay marriage. In another 4 years, there won't be any more black or brown republican congressmen than there are right now, the base will not allow it.
28
My question for minority voters is do you think Trump would rent you an apartment?
199
"Would Trump rent you an apartment?" should be on all the billboards and posters etc. in the US.
9
@Rmski77 Zing! This comment should be a Times Pick!
5
We remember the Central Park 5 racism, the redlining in real estate, trump’s slurs and insults against black members of Congress.
Trump can spend but we know what he did.
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@Marie
Don't forget Trump was a birther. Never forget that.
1
We need to always remember Republicans are very good at smearing the opponent. They took Hillary from 70% approval down to 40. They made Biden's anti-corruption work a liability. McCain lost because he was honorable, aside from Bush taking the economy into the ditch...
9
The analysis here on the effects that Trump campaign initiatives may be having on black voters has some merit, as far as it goes. But it does not consider what may actually be such initiatives’ foremost purpose: to give significant portions of the white electorate moral cover (albeit a gossamer-thin one) to vote for Trump. In blunt terms, Trump ads ostensibly aimed at black voters may actually be designed to give white suburban women a way to rationalize a vote for him, a basis for telling themselves, “Well, he’s not really a racist, so it’s okay for •me• to vote for him.”
— Brian
3
Trump has his sights on black voters two ways: first, by holding these ridiculous "courting" sessions that aim to imply that black support is building for the president.
And second, of course more pernicious because it's done as stealthily as possible, is voter suppression--alive and well in all red states.
Trump will peel off any black votes he can, while working as hard as he can to keep black voters from voting, even if it's just word that voting is such a hassle that they might as well stay home.
17
@ChristineMcM Good point. Adds to the shocking insincerity of this photo and his words.
As a white person, I have been listening to the Republican party play on white fears and keep telling both blacks and whites lies about black people for 40 years. I came of voting age during the Reagan administration. Trust me when I say there are plenty of white people out there that will tell you they are not racist because they don't think they are.
Don't pretend that the Republican party stands for anybody but the wealthy/Corporate America. trump has proven again and again he is not going to help working class Americans of any color. Working class meaning anyone that makes less than $100,000 a year.
72
Let me get this straight--Trump wants the very same people to vote for him that the GOP has been going out of their way to block from voting? What does the GOP intend to do, give a polygraph to every black voter who shows up at the polls and let them vote if they want to vote for Trump?
187
Edsall asks another tough question in this long piece and turns again to his basic e-mail, cull, and summarize approach to finding an answer. The result is a tough analysis that students will have to parse on their own--no help here with an overall theme or summary. It's what makes Edsall's work important, but occasionally difficult. Woe to the students who send out a slew of emails to their colleagues looking for one who might have an insight. It's another in a recent list of B/B- approaches--this topic deserves more analysis, but Edsall's commitment to the long walk undermines it.
All the tricks in the technological/media handbook will not change the reality on the ground. And the reality for African-Americans is stark---their economic condition is worsening and resegregation is worsening--that is a reality no commercial can hide. All of this, of course, under a President whose entire real estate career is built upon blatant violations of civil right laws. I am no media expert, but, I can visualize the campaign ads now---
10
I will never understand how Trump is on my side when he and his team are trying their best to take voting rights away from us.
279
@April
You finding it hard to vote? Are you saying NJ restricts black voters? I vote in Virginia in minutes without problems. I always feel that not enough voters turn out. I have lived in rural and urban areas and the workers at the polls are always helpful and friendly to Everyone. Please report this loss of voting rights immediately! It is your duty! What is wrong with NJ?
8
@Bill Virginia The problem does not lie with poll workers but with legislatures which pass laws requiring picture ids which are more difficult for the poor and minorities to obtain. This requirement is allegedly designed to prevent voter fraud, but investigators have been unable to find evidence that such a threat exists.
27
@Bill Virginia There are many examples of the Republican party trying to suppress black and other minority votes. Provisions in the voting rights act were gutted and state by state they have passed laws that disproportionately affect people of color. There has been documented evidence in some internal memos that reducing participation among these groups is actual strategy since they vote democrat more than republican. Just because you don't know about it doesn't make it not real.
40
I am not convinced got that black turnout was really that much lower in 2016. It seems clear to me that targeting certain precincts for hacking, and deleting
a percentage of all votes from those precincts, could easily be mistaken for lower black turnout.
20
@Celeste
Mr. Edsall has the numbers, also known as facts.
2
@Celeste
Yes, the black vote was much lower. Young people especially stayed at home.Nobody was feeling Clinton.
Those numbers from Detroit and Cleveland are eye-opening. Kerry outperforming Clinton by 50,000 votes in Cleveland is one reason she lost Ohio by a bigger margin than Georgia in 2016. I’m guessing we’d see similar numbers from Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, showing big drop offs in black support. Van Jones made the same point on CNN after the state of the union address, that Trump is targeting black voters in devious ways. And Russian interference is helping him do it - small wonder that McConnell won’t bring to the floor the bills to take measures against Russian interference this year. Edsall is right, Democrats better pay attention. I think Joe Biden would be more effective as a counterweight to all this than Sanders.
8
Democratic leaders and the donor class are very good at telling people what they think they should want.
Anything outside the predetermined narrative falls on deaf ears or is demonized by the so called educated.
That gets old all around.
9
@CNNNNC You are mistaken. Black voters are more conservative side of the democratic party. In this race, it's people like Warren who are educated but trying to push outside of the predetermined, I would even go so far as to say "machine" democratic line. What's getting old is the rest of us having to settle for the same old same old thanks to white moderates who don't have the gumption to initiate change and the innate conservatism that keeps them settling for Hillary and Joe when they deserve so much better.
52
@CNNNNC
Republican leaders, the ultra-wealthy like Trump, and the FOX News are very good at telling people what they think they should want.
Anything outside the predetermined narrative falls on deaf ears and is demonized by the so called conservatives where hewing the the party line is demanded right out loud and in public.
That gets old all around.
19
@CNNNNC can we please do away with the Trumpian conspiracy theory, "we was robbed!", "It's fixed!" garage. Talk about getting old! Saw-ry that not everyone genuflects to Sanders and doesn't believe he's the second coming, after Trump, of course. What is old at this point is this whole culture of cults around political figures thing.
4
As Mr. Edsall alludes to at the end of the essay, Trump will not get African American votes as much as Sanders would turn away African Americans from the polls. If Sanders becomes the nominee, he needs to run the Trump quote from Charlottesville on loop and he needs to expose the GOP's voter suppression efforts throughout the country aimed at limiting the African American and Latino vote.
134
Remember when he wanted to give David Duke the benefit of the doubt?
I guess it's no big deal.
5
@Bonnie Huggins Not for the GOP, apparently.