Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Thursday that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats have “let down” the black community and that people can expect him to lay out more detailed immigration plans over the next week or so, as he continues his recent outreach to minority communities.
“The numbers are going up with the African-American community rapidly,” Mr. Trump said at a roundtable meeting with black and Latino activists in New York. “I’ve always had great relationships with the African-American community. I’ve made it such a focal point.”
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former 2016 GOP presidential rival, told Mr. Trump he’s been emphasizing that in order to make America great again, all of it must be made great again, including the inner cities.
“Hundred percent,” Mr. Trump replied. “Including the Hispanics, African-Americans — everybody.
“A very important part of the message for me is the African-American community, [because] they have really been let down by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump has also been publicly weighing his plans on illegal immigration in recent days. He was supposed to give a policy speech Thursday on immigration, but it was postponed as he and his team continue to craft his platform.
He said he’d be laying out his plans over the next week or so.
“I look forward to that,” he said. “I feel very strong on illegal immigration. Don’t let the media fool the media.
“We either have a country or we don’t. We either have borders or we don’t. The wall is very important,” he said. “So I’ll be making a speech on that, I would say, over the next week — laying out an exactly plan — and I think people will have great respect for the plan.”
Some recent polling has shown signs of movement for Mr. Trump, though he still appears to have an uphill climb among minority voters. He received 8 percent support from black voters and 22 percent support from Hispanic voters in the latest NBC News/SurveyMonkey online tracking poll this week.
In 2012, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney won about 6 percent of the black vote and about 27 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to exit polls.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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