Black voters for Trump

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, August 13th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: ethnic minorities and the 2024 election.

While 80 percent of black voters are registered Democrats, a recent New York Times/Siena poll shows former President Donald Trump has nearly tripled his support among registered black voters since 2020.

EICHER: WORLD’s Lindsay Mast talked to some black voters in Atlanta about why they support the former president.

LINDSAY MAST: Before the Trump rally in downtown Atlanta earlier this month, a line of people snaked through the streets and parking lots outside the Georgia State University Convocation Center. It was a blazing hot August day–90 degrees and sunny.

An hour and a half before the start time, word spread—the doors were closed. No one else was getting in. People crowded onto the sidewalks around the arena to watch and listen to a Jumbotron broadcasting what was going on inside.

AUDIO: [Sound of rally police]

A woman in heels and a miniskirt wore a fake ankle monitor, an allusion to Trump’s legal challenges. One group wore matching shirts that read “Latino Catholics for Trump.”

A white Chevy Suburban drove by multiple times. Chalk paint on the windows demanded “Honk if you’re MAGA.”

Also circling the area: a mobile billboard truck showing an ad highlighting comments made by and about Trump, bolstering claims that he’s racist. According to The Hill, the Democratic National Committee debuted that ad at this rally. Atlanta has a population that’s 36% black–it’s home to Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and several historically black colleges and universities.

Some sound from the ad:

ADVERTISEMENT: “The black guys counting my money I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys wearing yarmulkes every day because laziness is a trait in blacks.” He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. Why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?

The final words, in print on the screen? ‘You shouldn’t.’

So, how does that kind of message influence black Trump supporters? I asked a few people who came out to support him that day why they were there.

GREGORY SAMUEL: Everybody's here for the same reason. Man, everybody wants change.

Gregory Samuel brought his wife and their two young kids. They didn’t get here early enough to get inside. Samuel’s wife told me he worked till midnight the night before so they let him sleep in. The whole family wears brand new Trump hats. Samuel says he’s worried about the future.

SAMUEL: Now, with all this inflation, like we barely can afford groceries, gas prices are out of whack. I mean, everything is just crazy right now, and this is a scary time for our kids as well, with the way schools are going as well with the agendas they have on, like transgender, male, female, and then at the ages, they're presenting that to kids. And I thought it would be perfect to come out here and support these men that believe in the true American family, the true American way.

Samuel says he used to be a Democrat but that Trump’s first presidency changed his mind.

SAMUEL: Who else wants another politician? Nobody, you know. I would rather have a businessman in there, because this country is a business at the end of the day. He already showed you what he can do, the policies he put in place for us, the child tax credit. Put money back in families' homes, and it was a nice amount of money, too, to help us get over that edge.

Keon Young is 30, an entrepreneur who says he makes money using TikTok and AirBnb. He says he no longer trusts the Democratic party. 

KEON YOUNG: I feel like the Democrats have led our country astray. I feel like they've sold our country out to foreign countries, and I feel like we need to make America American again.

MAST: Have you always felt that way, or what was that like? Was there a turning point for you?

YOUNG: To be honest, I've always felt that type of way. I feel like the Democrats try to take advantage of the black vote. They think it's just a guaranteed easy vote when it's not. And you’re gonna see it this November - you’re gonna see it at the polls.

MAST: What do you think when you see the signs? I don't know if you saw there was an electric truck rolling around saying Donald Trump is racist, and Georgia voters know that.

YOUNG: I feel like. I feel like a lot of people are misunderstood. They've been programmed to ways that have been programmed in their heads since they were children, like their parents are Democrats, their parents have always taught them that anyone who's Republican is a racist, so they have a misconception in their head about that. And I feel like a lot of people are just stuck on that.

One woman, Nicole, wouldn’t give her last name but told me she’s a Christian. She said her political views started to pivot when her faith didn’t always align with the policies of the Obama administration. This will be her third time voting for Trump.

NICOLE: Should we look at someone and say, You know what? Because you're not my shade, I'm not going to vote for you. Clearly, we've all lived under his presidency, his presidency, and we I know for me and my family, we were way better where finances is concerned, we were way better. That was not–we traveled more, we explored more, we enjoyed life more. It wasn't a time where I had to look back and say, Wait, hold on, wait, wait, maybe my coupons are helping. 

MAST: What do you say when people say, well, Trump's character is flawed and faulty and would disqualify him?

NICOLE: I love that question, why? Because every last one of us are. That's why we need a savior. Every day we wake up, we are blessed to breathe new air and wake up and see the beautiful sun. We have the opportunity for us to say, you know what, Father, I got it wrong yesterday. I said this, I did this. My attitude was just ugly. Father, I repent. That's an opportunity to change your mind.

The people I spoke to said they’re tired of the role race has started to play in the election. That they wish people would research the candidates’ records. That they think another Trump presidency is the way to get a future they can feel good about.

SAMUEL: Everybody wants a better life. Everybody wants another, better four years, like we did have. Everybody wants to prosper. Everybody wants to feed their families, you know.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lindsay Mast in Atlanta, Georgia.

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