Monday night, Donald Trump continued his strategy of reaching out to Black voters using his signature “what the hell do you have to lose?” slogan and discussing inner city violence and poverty.
Trump addressed a largely white crowd and talked about the dangers of living in inner cities, comparing it to a war zone. “The Democrats have failed completely in the inner cities. For those hurting the most who have been failed and failed by their politician — year after year, failure after failure, worse numbers after worse numbers. Poverty. Rejection. Horrible education. No housing, no homes, no ownership. Crime at levels that nobody has seen. You can go to war zones in countries that we are fighting and it’s safer than living in some of our inner cities that are run by the Democrats,” said Trump, “And I ask you this, I ask you this — crime, all of the problems — to the African Americans, who I employ so many, so many people, to the Hispanics, tremendous people: What the hell do you have to lose? Give me a chance. I’ll straighten it out. I’ll straighten it out. What do you have to lose?”
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With Trumps racist and xenophobic rhetoric, not to mention his history of business bankruptcies — his hotels and casinos have declared bankruptcy four times — it’s hard to believe that the Republican presidential hopeful would be able to do anything for black voters, the inner city, or the economy. Marlon Marshall, Clinton’s director of state campaigns and political engagement, told The Washington Post, “It could not be clearer how much African Americans have to lose under Donald Trump. He is doubling down on insults, fear and stereotypes that set our community back and further divide our country. But again this is not surprising, this is a man who questions the citizenship of the first African American president, has a disturbing pattern of courting white supremacists, and has been sued for housing discrimination against communities of color.”
So, what do black voters have to lose? Everything.