Trump pitches for the black vote

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Republican presidential candidates have a long history of failure and frustration trying to make inroads in the black communities, let alone actively campaign for their vote, so what Donald Trump did this week was especially unexpected. Even with the odds against him, he directly made a pitch for the support of black voters.

In his speech in Milwaukee, Mr. Trump effectively explained how Democrats have long taken the black vote for granted, and how liberal Democratic policies have led to greater poverty and crime in inner cities in ways that have devastated many minority communities.

“Hillary Clinton-backed policies are responsible for the problems in the inner cities today, and a vote for her is a vote for another generation of poverty, high crime and lost opportunities,” Mr. Trump said, advancing an argument too few Republicans have even tried to make.

While Mr. Trump’s speech was reflexively criticized by a number of black leaders backing Mrs. Clinton, Niger Innis, a civil rights leader and chairman of Tea Party Forward, had a very different reaction.

“Donald Trump’s speech was fantastic,” Mr. Innis said. “It was historic and hard-hitting. He needs to go into the ’hood or barrio and give this speech. And he must surround himself with his black and Latino supporters. He doesn’t need to go into the lions’ den alone.”

Is the black community willing to listen to Mr. Trump and be open to his vision for tackling poverty and crime through economic growth? Are black urban voters angry and frustrated enough to consider a political revolution in their communities, or will they stick with the status quo?

For now, black voters are standing with Mrs. Clinton. The latest ABC/Washington Post poll gives Mrs. Clinton 92 percent of the black support and Mr. Trump received only 2 percent. The black vote makes up 25 percent of the Democratic electorate. Mrs. Clinton relied heavily on the black vote during the primary, which was key to her ability to fend off Bernie Sanders.

She has developed strong ties in the black communities and has the support of key African-American leaders. President Obama will also help her in energizing the base and getting out the black vote in key battleground states.

So it will take much more than one speech for Mr. Trump to win over even a sliver of black voters in November, but he has already put forward some powerful arguments. While he builds the case against the Democrats on their lack of innovative solutions to inner-city problems, the key will be to build relationships with those in the communities who feel discouraged and disappointed by the status quo. One of Mr. Trump’s most telling points was that for the past 40 years, it has been Democratic politicians who run most of the inner cities most plagued by poverty, crime, failing schools and segregation.

It is time to re-evaluate business and politics as usual in dealing with urban poverty, since the same old politicians with the same old stale ideas have so obviously failed.

Mr. Trump spoke directly to moms who want their children to be safe, to families and young people trapped in the cycle of poverty. Even Mrs. Clinton admits that minorities are disproportionately affected by lack of employment opportunities, yet the Obama administration has little to show in addressing the problems. Black family poverty rates up, real median household income are down, and food stamp usage has increased for African-Americans in the last eight years. Under Mr. Obama, tensions have grown in inner-city neighborhoods and race relations have deteriorated.

Mr. Trump will find a ready ally in House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who has already developed a bold anti-poverty agenda. Mr. Trump met with black pastors early in the campaign, and his campaign is building out its outreach efforts to minority communities.

But the GOP nominee needs to pick up the pace. His greatest strength is his one-on-one connection when he meets with individuals. He brings a fresh message for the black community, while Mrs. Clinton offers the same old Obama economic agenda that has already proven a failure.

With less than 90 days left until Election Day, it will take a heavy lift and a sustained commitment from Mr. Trump to overturn historical voting trends. But the indictment he handed down in Wisconsin this week is irrefutable.

“The Democratic Party has failed and betrayed the African-American community,” he said. “Democratic crime policies, education policies and economic policies have produced only more crime, more broken homes and more poverty.”

• Mercedes Schlapp is a Fox News contributor, co-founder of Cove Strategies and former White House director of specialty media under President George W. Bush.