The announcement coincided with Donald Trump’s visit to Detroit on Saturday to attend a roundtable discussion at a Black church.
Amid the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump’s campaign announced on Saturday a new coalition, « Black Americans for Trump », which boasts endorsements from elected officials, athletes, entertainers, community leaders and pastors from within the Black community.
The Trump campaign noted that it launched the coalition ahead of the Juneteenth holiday, which celebrates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.
The coalition announcement also coincided with Trump’s visit to Detroit on Saturday to attend a roundtable discussion at a Black church as Republicans look to peel away Black voters from President Joe Biden ahead of November’s election.
« While Black Americans have been left behind by Joe Biden, President Trump has prioritized the Black community », Team Trump’s Black Media Director Janiyah Thomas said in a statement about the new coalition. « Donald J. Trump’s coalition message to the Black community is simple: If you want to return to the policies that created rising wages, more quality jobs, stronger borders, and safer neighborhoods, then join Black Americans for Trump and vote for President Trump in November. »
Biden is looking to repeat his success with Black voters, a key demographic that helped him beat Trump in 2020.
The president and his campaign have also stepped up their efforts to reach Black voters in recent weeks, amid signs he is losing support among the important voting bloc, particularly in battleground states.
A Marist Poll published on Wednesday shows that Biden has lost considerable support among Black voters in Pennsylvania, a state he narrowly won in 2020. He had won the support of most Black voters in 2020, with 92 percent voting for him and just 7 percent choosing Trump. In Wednesday’s survey, 68 percent of Black voters said they were supporting Biden, or leaning towards him, in November’s election, while 23 percent said they were backing Trump. The poll was conducted between June 3 through June 6 among 1,277 Pennsylvania adults.
Among Black registered voters, Biden led Trump 57 to 12 percent in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in May, with 16 percent saying they aren’t sure who they will vote for, 8 percent saying some other candidate and 7 percent saying they won’t vote at all.
The Biden campaign released a statement Saturday regarding Trump’s new Black voter outreach, saying the coalition is an « eleventh hour attempt » and « isn’t fooling anyone.
