A boast by Donald Trump last week that he is making inroads with Black voters due to his legal problems is getting side-eye from pollsters who claim there is little to no evidence at all of his claim.
During his speech before a South Carolina gathering of Black conservatives the multi-indicted Trump told the crowd, "...a lot of people said that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against," he claimed, before adding, "I think that’s why the Black people are so much on my side now," he added later in the speech. "Because they see what’s happening to me happens to them.”
Following the speech, MSNBC analyst Garrett Haake commented, "When these clips are played around the country to that broader African-American audience whom he is desperately trying to make some inroads with, I think that's when you have the real problem here."
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According to a report from USA Today's Sudiksha Kochi, pollsters have seen no bump due to his legal problems, with his support remaining at the same flat 12 percent he had in 2020 before he was buffeted by a wave of criminal charges and civil lawsuits.
The report notes, "Several pollsters and Black political scientists that spoke with USA TODAY said that the former president’s comparison between his legal troubles and the injustices that Black Americans have faced in the legal system are invalid," before adding, "in 2016, Trump received the support of 8% of Black voters, according to exit polls. That support increased to 12% in 2020. The USA TODAY/Suffolk poll from January found that Trump’s support among Black voters has stayed the same at 12%. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s support has slipped from 87% in 2020, according to the Roper Center, to 63%."
Sharon Austin, a political science professor at the University of Florida, explained that Trump's appeal to Black voters based on some perceived commonality involving crime is going nowhere.
“There have been numerous instances of disparities in the sentencing and arrests of Black men and women who have been accused of crimes that have nothing in common with whatever he thinks he's experiencing,” Austin explained.
Leah Wright Rigueur of Johns Hopkins University claimed Trump has done little to bring Black voters on board.
"Any kind of numbers that Donald Trump has picked up amongst Black voters is not because of anything that Donald Trump has done. It's because of things that the Democratic Party has done. That's why Black voters are leaving, they're saying you know what? I have a better shot voting for a third party candidate, or maybe even Donald Trump, because I'm so upset at the Democratic Party," Riguer stated.
