With only a few weeks left in this presidential race, Donald Trump’s still got a few cards in his pocket. Will they be winning cards? Plenty of analysis is rolling around about how Trump’s got momentum on his side, but it likely won’t be enough to win the electoral game. That’s why his team, which is admittedly savvy, is pulling out the stops. The Republican nominee is spending time in states that he disregarded during the primary cycle (like Colorado), and he’s attempting to reach out to black voters.
This has been a repeated theme of Trump’s during general election season. In between refusing to release his taxes, making remarks about Hillary Clinton’s “stamina,” and lashing out at Syrian refugees, Trump occasionally tries to recruit the black vote. He’s doing so in half-hearted ways, of course. Instead of truly embracing any issues that are important to black voters, Trump’s simply telling them they live in urban hellscapes and asking, “What do you have to lose?” He toured Detroit for appearance’s sake, and then he visited Flint, where a pastor shut him down when he ignored the event’s cause and started railing against Hillary Clinton.
But Trump will try again. This time, his informal adviser — Sean Hannity — will be on his side during a town hall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. Hannity spoke with The Hill about the event, which will be held at a black church and hosted by Trump supporter Reverend Darrell Scott:
[T]he event will specifically “discuss the core issues and concerns surrounding African-Americans this 2016 election cycle.”
“I heard the campaign was doing something with Pastor Scott, who is a friend, and I said let’s put it on TV,” Hannity tells The Hill. “They agreed. Donald Trump has had a series of speeches in predominantly black churches and he is clearly continuing that outreach.”
Perhaps Matt Lauer wasn’t available? Hannity recently admitted the obvious (during an interview with the New York Times) about how he’s “not hiding the fact” that he wants Trump to be president, and he “never claimed to be a journalist.” Fox News seems perfectly alright with Hannity’s enthusiastic endorsement, as this Cleveland special will air on Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST.
Of course, there’s the lingering question of whether Trump’s team will try to reach out to Tamir Rice‘s family with an invitation. Perhaps an even better question is whether the Rice family would even respond.
(Via The Hill)
