Trump says he's 'devoted' to black community ⁠— but only 3% of black women support him

On Tuesday, Trump spoke at the 2019 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference and hailed his administration for purportedly supporting black families.

“African Americans built this nation through generations of blood, sweat, and tears. And you, like all of our citizens, are entitled to a government that puts your needs, your interests, and your families first,” he said.

He also praised his administration for being “deeply devoted” to the black community.

Data shows, however, that black voters don’t believe that rhetoric.

A CNN poll released the same day as Trump’s speech revealed that Trump’s approval rating with black women is at a dismal 3%. That number reflects Trump’s ongoing struggles with nonwhite voters, who have consistently given him low marks.

Trump lost the overall popular vote in 2016 to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. But his showing was even worse on election night with black voters.

Trump received only 8% of the black vote, while Clinton received 89%. That performance was better than his standing among black women, where Trump received just 4% of the vote — his worst showing in any racial demographic. Clinton received 94% of the vote from black women.

Trump’s own track record is riddled with racist incidents and his decision to embrace racism and anti-Semitism has done nothing to help shift perceptions among nonwhite voters.

Since taking office, he has praised Nazis and made repeated attacks using the presidential bully pulpit against black politicians, leaders, and celebrities.

The CNN poll on Tuesday shows he has lost ground even where he was already considered unfavorable.

The trends have been consistently negative for Trump, who started his presidency with an average approval rating of around 44.3%.

By comparison, Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, began his time in office with a 63.3% approval rating and left in January 2017 with the support of 57.2% of Americans.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.