Why Black Men Won’t Vote For Trump
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Besides the fact that Trump is now a convicted felon, with a pending sentencing hearing on July 11, 2024, other reasons are first and foremost Trump’s turbulent history with the black community stretches back decades. In 1989, he took out full-page ads in New York newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty after five black and Latino teenagers were accused of assaulting and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. Though they were later exonerated by DNA evidence after spending years in prison, Trump refused to admit his mistake.
As president from 2017-2021, Trump consistently downplayed issues like systemic racism, police brutality, and economic inequality disproportionately impacting black Americans. His administration’s harsh immigration crackdown and Muslim travel ban were seen by critics as thinly veiled appeals to white grievance.
Perhaps Trump’s most incendiary moment came after the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville in 2017, when he condemned “hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides” rather than directly denouncing the racist extremists. His lukewarm response provoked a firestorm of criticism that he had emboldened far-right factions.
On matters of criminal justice reform, minority voters felt Trump’s gestures were too little, too late. His support for the broadly popular First Step Act reduced sentences for some non-violent drug offenders, but he took no meaningful action on larger issues like ending excessive force by police or discriminatory policies within the justice system.
Trump’s loud promotion of economic nationalism and restrictive immigration policies have also turned off many black men seeking upward mobility and entrepreneurship. His hard-line negotiating stance on free trade agreements and insistence on limiting pathways to legal immigration run counter to the interests of many black business owners and workers who depend on the free flow of labor, goods, and capital across borders.
More broadly, Trump’s divisive persona and penchant for inflammatory racial rhetoric alienate many black male voters who want a president offering a positive, forward-looking vision of an equitable, multi-racial democracy. His reactionary appeals to white resentment and unmistakable nostalgia for an earlier, less-diverse America ring hollow with younger generations of black men.
While Trump insists his policies have been a resounding success for minority citizens, it appears actions speak louder than words for this key constituency. Barring a drastic change in strategy, the former president seems likely to continue trailing badly with black male voters eager for leaders promoting racial comity over grievance politics.