There Are African Americans Who Back Trump-- Between 6 and 8% Of Them

In the aftermath of the 2016 election, the Southern Poverty Law center issued a report on the impact of the campaign on the nation's schools-- and not in terms of what Betsy DeVos has done to harm them since Trump installed her. According to the report, "survey data indicate that the results of the election are having a profoundly negative impact on schools and students. Ninety percent of educators report that school climate has been negatively affected, and most of them believe it will have a long-lasting impact. A full 80 percent describe heightened anxiety and concern on the part of students worried about the impact of the election on themselves and their families. Also on the upswing: verbal harassment, the use of slurs and derogatory language, and disturbing incidents involving swastikas, Nazi salutes and Confederate flags... Teachers overwhelmingly named the source of both the anxiety and the behavior as Donald Trump, then a leading contender for the Republican nomination. Since Trump was elected, media have been awash in reports of hate incidents around the nation, including at schools...This report provides a high-level summary of the findings. Here are the highlights:

• Nine out of 10 educators who responded have seen a negative impact on students’ mood and behavior following the election; most of them worry about the continuing impact for the remainder of the school year.
• Eight in 10 report heightened anxiety on the part of marginalized students, including immigrants, Muslims, African Americans and LGBT students.
• Four in 10 have heard derogatory language directed at students of color, Muslims, immigrants and people based on gender or sexual orientation.
• Half said that students were targeting each other based on which candidate they’d supported.
• Although two-thirds report that administrators have been “responsive,” four out of 10 don’t think their schools have action plans to respond to incidents of hate and bias.
• Over 2,500 educators described specific incidents of bigotry and harassment that can be directly traced to election rhetoric. These incidents include graffiti (including swastikas), assaults on students and teachers, property damage, fights and threats of violence.
• Because of the heightened emotion, half are hesitant to discuss the election in class. Some principals have told teachers to refrain from discussing or addressing the election in any way.

Surprising? If it was, you weren't paying close enough attention during the campaign. And plenty of members of minority groups weren't. This is what percentage of various demographics targeted by Trumpists actually voted for Trump in 2016:

• Latinos: 28%

• Jews: 24%
• Asians: 18%
• Muslims: 16.8%
• LGBTQ: 14%
• Blacks: 8%

So who's the electorally smartest? African Americans... by far. Their communities have suffered the most at the hands of Trump and his right-wing, racist supporters. That isn't stopping Trump from sniffing around for low-hanging fruit among black voters, primarily delusional imbeciles and self-serving hucksters like Gregory Cheadle, Isaiah Washington, Darrell Scott, Don King, Bruce LeVell, Kanye West...

Friday the Associated Press noted that "Trump is trying to pit the black community against immigrants, saying Democrats care more for people who have come to the U.S. illegally than African Americans. Trump says public benefits should be protected for American citizens and says today’s Democratic Party has no idea how to help black Americans... turning several of his hot-button issues into a play for black support... trying to appeal to African American voters by citing crime problems in the nation’s major cities, saying the vast majority of the nation’s most dangerous cities are run by Democrats."

Another AP offering, the following day, expanded on the idea of Trump looking for black votes in Atlanta: "'The Democrats have let you down,' Trump told the crowd of several hundred supporters, including several who wore red 'BLACK LIVES MAGA' hats. 'They’ve dismissed you. They’ve hurt you. They’ve sabotaged you for far too long.' Trump spoke at the launch of a new 'Black Voices for Trump' outreach initiative dedicated to 'recruiting and activating Black Americans in support of President Trump,' according to the campaign. Trump predicted he would win reelection in 2020 with 'a groundswell of support from hardworking African American patriots.' Such prediction have been met with skepticism from critics, however, given Trump’s consistently dismal approval rating with black voters. Trump has spent much of the last four years engaged in racially charged attacks, going after minority members of Congress, claiming 'no human being' would want to live in 'rodent infested,' majority-minority Baltimore and insisting there were 'very fine people on both sides' of the deadly Charlottesville protest against white supremacists."

Shortly after landing in Georgia on Friday, Trump retweeted a call from one black supporter for submissions for a ”#MAGACHALLENGE” competition featuring Trump-friendly rap songs. Trump said he would be announcing the winners and inviting them to the White House to meet with him and perform.

“I think black Americans are not the audience for these outreach efforts,” said Theodore Johnson, a senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice who is an expert in race and politics. While Trump might be able to maintain the low level of black support he received in 2016, or perhaps expand it by 1 or 2 points, Johnson sees little evidence the president can change many minds.

“I think this is not going to move the needle at all,” he said.

Before launching the new effort, Trump met with supporters at a fundraiser that was expected to raise about $3.5 million for a joint committee benefiting the Republican National Committee, the Trump campaign and the campaign of Sen. David Perdue (R-GA). Nearby, a small group of protesters chanted, “Lock him up!”

Scores of protesters also gathered outside the convention center where Trump was speaking, chanting, “Impeach and remove.”

Carl Dix, of the group Refuse Fascism, said he thought the launch was aimed at trying to send a message to Trump’s white supporters that he’s “not a racist. ‘I’ve got black friends.’”

In 2016, 6% of black voters supported Trump, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of people who participated in its polls and were confirmed to have voted. There is no indication his support is growing. Polling shows that African Americans continue to be overwhelmingly negative in their assessments of the president’s performance, with his approval hovering around 1 in 10 over the course of his presidency, according to Gallup.

Yet Trump’s campaign dismissed the numbers, insisting the campaign has seen favorable movement and arguing the president can increase his margins with black voters by bringing new people into the fold.

...A September AP-NORC poll found that only roughly 3 in 10 Americans say the things Trump has done as president have been good for African Americans. And just 4% of African Americans said they think Trump’s actions have had a positive impact on African Americans in general, while 81% said they think they’ve been bad.

Yet even if he can’t win over black voters, some suspect that’s not the point. As long as the campaign can keep on-the-fence voters from casting their ballots for the eventual Democratic nominee, the campaign will be helping Trump inch closer to a second victory.

“I do think the main objective is to discourage turnout,” said Johnson. “I absolutely think this is about creating doubt in black voters’ minds about the Democratic nominee” so people feel like “there’s almost no one worth voting for.”

And he said fears were growing it might work.

“There is a pretty tangible fear among black Americans that Trump is going to win again because black turnout won’t be enough to mute the white turnout,” Johnson said. “There’s a sense that in 2020 he’s going to win again.”