Donald Trump Jr. claimed Black men have approached him on several occasions to call him their hero.
The former president’s son stated this on a recent episode of his show “Triggered” with guest Scott Presler as Presler began discussing his efforts to expand the conservative “America First” vision to Black communities.
In response, Trump Jr. said Republicans tend to avoid canvassing in “urban environments” but claimed that Black men have approached him during his visits to various parts of the country to compliment him.
“I have seen and witnessed now more than ever the amount of African-American men that have come up to me literally like, ‘Hey, man, you’re my hero,'” Trump Jr. said. “I’m like ‘What!? Really?’ I did not have that in my bingo card.”
Trump Jr. added that Black people are “catching on” to how “rigged the system is” and how the Democratic Party has failed them. He never cited any specific instances of when he’s spoken personally to Black voters, but he claimed the shift in their political stances is “palpable.”
According to recent polls, former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are neck and neck when it comes to voter favorability among all the nation’s voters. Biden still carries a higher favorable rating than Trump with Black voters. However, Trump has been steadily picking up steam in support among the group.
Donald Trump visited South Carolina last week to speak at the Black Conservative Federation event, just a day before he slashed through the Republican primary and soundly defeated presidential opponent Nikki Haley in the state she presides over as governor.
At the event, the GOP frontrunner stated that he believes the Democrats have done a very “poor job” for Black Americans and purported that he can relate to their plights because he has been “discriminated against” in the legal system.
Last November, a New York Times/Sienna College poll found that 22 percent of Black voters in six of the most important battleground states — Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — said they would vote for Trump in 2024.
No Republican presidential candidate has ever won more than 12 percent of the Black vote in an election in nearly half a century, but campaign groups are working across the country to secure more Black votes for Trump in this upcoming election. He landed 8 percent of the Black vote in the 2020 election.
NBC News spoke with Black Ohio-based pastor Darrell Scott, who is spearheading a collective effort with groups in different states to attract more Black voters to the Trump camp, specifically by targeting negative messaging surrounding Trump.
“We have coalition groups across the country that are set to roll out initiatives very, very soon in those communities that will focus on voter outreach and engagement and things like messaging in Black communities,” Scott said. “It is going to focus on direct voter engagement and messaging to specific communities. It is my intent to counter the negativity from Never Trumpers. We are going to dispel narratives that exist about him.”
Biden launched outreach efforts and digital campaigns last year in key battleground states like Wisconsin and Arizona, targeting young, Black voters.
