OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden has been shedding key voter demographics for months, including black voters who are increasingly flocking to former President Donald Trump, with some saying they can relate to the persecution he’s been put through by Democratic operatives using lawfare.
“Whether it’s because of his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, the enormous economic strain forcing many Americans to take on additional shifts or second jobs, or even his push to ban menthol cigarettes, black Americans are taking a second look at the Democratic incumbent,” an op-ed in The Western Journal noted on Saturday.
“What this means for Biden in the 2024 election is clear. Even the smallest falloff in a constituency long dominated by Democrats could spell disaster,” the op-ed continued.
Trump only won about 8 percent of the black vote in 2016, but that increased to 16 percent in 2020. Now, according to some surveys, he is on pace to increase that this year.
In a recent New York Times/Siena poll, he got 16 percent support from black voters despite being called racist at every turn by Democrats since entering the political scene. Black men, especially, are moving away from the Democratic Party and towards Trump, and that includes black voters in Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania.
Last week, Newsmax’s Addison Smith shared a photo of two black men “awaiting Biden’s arrival in Pittsburgh to show him their ‘Donald Trump is who we want’ signs.”
People gather awaiting Biden’s arrival in Pittsburgh to show him their “Donald Trump is who we want” signs. pic.twitter.com/GOG6FU6Dhf
— Addison Smith (@AddisonSmithTV) April 17, 2024
The shift in black support comes despite a concerted effort by the Biden campaign to target that demographic. According to CBS News, “As part of a $30 million ad buy in March, the campaign launched multiple ads targeting black voters in the battleground states.”
Black Americans may also be feeling the economic pinch more than other ethnic groups. In March, the black unemployment rate increased to 6.4 percent, marking its highest level since August 2022. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for whites remained steady at 3.4 percent, and it decreased for Asians and Hispanics to 2.5 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
Many of those jobs that could be taken by American citizens are being taken instead by migrants that Biden has allowed to remain in the country after they crossed illegally, reports have said.
“I don’t care what the media tells you, Mr. Trump, we support you,” one young black woman who hugged the former president at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta last week said.
Trump also got what some would characterize as a hero’s welcome from a large diverse crowd as he pulled up to what an online video report described as a bodega in Harlem after his second day in a Manhattan courtroom for his hush money trial last week.
In the video, the crowds can be seen cheering for the 45th president as his motorcade pulls up to the destination. At one point, the crowd starts chanting, “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and “Four more years!” Crowds also chanted, “USA! USA! USA!”
Throughout the video, Trump is also seen interacting with the crowd, shaking hands, and talking with various supporters about several different topics as Secret Service agents kept a close watch. He also gave interviews to several news outlets, making remarks about the trial and telling reporters that a bodega association invited him.
“I respect them, and they respect me. They want law and order, they have a lot of crime…where their stores are being robbed,” he said.
At another point, Trump said former President “Jimmy Carter should be happy” that Joe Biden became president because, according to the 45th commander-in-chief, Carter’s presidency was viewed as the worst in modern history until Biden.
As he was getting into his motorcade, President Trump was surrounded by cops who smiled and returned compliments as he could be heard saying, “You guys are the best.” A clip of the interaction ends with Trump calling on the group of officers to join him on the sidewalk for a group photo.
Trump genuinely loves the NYPD
They’ve been with him from the start, all the way back in the 70’s when he was a young man, with big dreams, in a spiraling city
They’re still by his side as he’s being persecuted in the city he built
This is wholesome pic.twitter.com/TCEJdgFJkg
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) April 16, 2024
