President-elect Donald Trump is likely to double his previous approval rating among black men and win the largest share of nonwhite voters for a Republican presidential candidate since Richard Nixon.
About 21% of black men supported Trump, while 7% of black women supported him, and 12% of black voters overall voted for Trump, up from 8% eight years ago. did. According to Edison Research.
For the black men who switched to Trump, this shift reflected growing disillusionment with the Democratic Party's attitude towards them, a rebellion against political stereotyping based on their race, and a broader warming to Republican policies. It was the pinnacle of
There was also a lingering feeling that Trump was someone they could empathize with.
Duke Tanner, a former undefeated professional boxer who was pardoned by President Trump, told the Post, “Having the president's mug shot allows him to see things through black people's eyes.”
“He was able to really see what we were going through through the eyes of Black people. [have] I've experienced it for years. ”
At the age of 24, Tanner was arrested for drug conspiracy, later convicted and sentenced to life in prison, and was kept away from his son. Since then, he has written books on his travels.
“My son didn't want to learn how to ride a bike because I wasn't there to teach him. He wanted me to teach him how to ride, not his uncle or grandpa. '' Tanner recalled.
But about four years ago, President Trump intervened and “saved the day,” Tanner said. She also praised President Trump for helping people in similar situations by signing the First Step Act, which aims to commute certain federal sentences and reform the prison system.
Before Trump took office, Tanner speculated that he probably would have identified more with Democrats, but he was impressed by the soon-to-be 47th president's policies.
“As a black person, no matter what, you [were] taught from [when you were] “You were a kid when you were a Democrat,” he recalled.
If Vice President Kamala Harris had won the election, she would have become the first Black woman president in the White House and the second Black woman president overall.
She has largely avoided arguments about identity politics, carefully answering questions about polls that suggest she's garnering significant support from black men, and weighing in on a series of proposals aimed at courting black men, including the legalization of marijuana. He came up with a policy.
“It's very important that we don't act on the assumption that black men are in someone's pocket,” Harris said during a National Association of Black Journalists panel discussion in September.
The feeling that black voters are expected to become Democrats resonates with many black conservatives.
“I grew up being told that if you're black, you're a Democrat,” former NFL player Jack Brewer told the Post.
“I was told that only rich people and racists vote Republican.”
“When I supported Trump in 2016, I lost friends. I had my family stop talking to me. But now those same black people are calling me in 2024 and saying, “What are you going to do?'' He said it seemed like he was thinking about it.
brewer, Who heads the eponymous foundation of the Jack Brewer Foundation?Also, a growing group of black men “reject the soft liberalism of figures like Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, and other left-wing Democrats who seek to feminize their children and culture.” He claimed that
The changes for black men coincide with a widening gender gap across racial lines.
Harris won with 53% of women, compared to 45% who supported Trump, according to Edison Research. Meanwhile, the president-elect won 55% of men, compared to 42% for Harris.
According to the poll, Trump won a majority (54%) of Latino male voters.
During the campaign, former President Barack Obama complained to his “brethren” about Harris' shortcomings and wondered if they “just don't get the idea of having a woman as president.” The situation was caught on TV.
His wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, also implored men to “take our lives seriously.”
“I think they wanted to use guilt to play the race card. But that's not what this is about,” Tanner said of the Obamas' comments.
T.W. Shannon, President Trump's 2024 black campaign advisor and Oklahoma's first African-American speaker of the House of Representatives, said black voters are likely to be in the so-called “blue wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It was evaluated as an important pillar of the government and promoting policy. Trump on Tuesday.
“Unlike other Republicans, only Donald Trump gets credit for pursuing black votes. He is honest, offers a realistic plan, and has a track record of success in his first term. and, most importantly, true to the community, none of which Kamala could have,” Shannon explained.
“Harris, by contrast, showed up at a black church two weeks before the election in typical Democratic fashion, and the only plan she had was to give black women abortions on demand and For black men it was to do a marijuana shop.”
As the post-election investigation continues, prominent Democratic politicians are trying to figure out how they bled minority male voters.
“Let's state the obvious here: Smearing voters of color as white supremacists will not drive them back to the Democratic Party. It will push them further into the Trump camp. Deaf,” said Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-New York). I wrote to X.
“The purpose of politics is not to repulse, but to attract. Condescension is the most powerful repellent in politics. Voters instinctively resent condescension and will punish you at the polls. ”
During the Obama administration, some Democratic operatives believed that demographic fortunes could help secure long-term political advantage as the party appears to be influencing minority voters. I felt strongly.
Republicans now hope to continue making inroads with working-class minority voters.
