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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Democratic Party has enjoyed overwhelming support among Black voters for decades, but former President Trump is chipping away at that key demographic.
“They take us for granted,” Anthony from Kalamazoo, Michigan, said of Democrats. “When we speak, they don’t listen.”
Attendees at a Trump rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024, said the Democratic Party takes Black voters for granted and overemphasizes the importance of race. (Joshua Nelson/Fox News Digital)
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Biden won 87% of the Black vote in 2020, compared to Trump’s 12%. But the president’s hold on Black and Hispanic voters was slipping prior to his announcement that he would no longer seek re-election.
And only 69% of Black voters in a Fox News Poll from early July — before Biden ended his campaign — said they would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in a match-up with Trump. New surveys have shown Harris could improve on Biden’s dwindling numbers with Black voters against Trump.
Fox News Digital spoke to more than a dozen Black men at Trump’s rally last weekend in Grand Rapids, asking them what Democrats misunderstand about their demographic.
“Not all of us think of ourselves in relation to our skin color,” Jermaine from Detroit said. “This is really about values and morals and how you see the world.”
Henry from Battle Creek, Michigan, was similarly annoyed by what he sees as a fascination with race on the left.
“No person is special because of their race,” he said. “You don’t have to treat us like we’re a brand-new creature, OK? Trying to make me think that I deserve more than somebody else, I’ve been mistreated more than others. No. We’re just normal people.”
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A Fox News Poll from July 7-10, 2024, compares Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ support among key voting blocs in a matchup against Trump. (Fox News)
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Austin said Democrats underestimate the “zeal” with which people pursue success. He said the economy was better under Trump and showed people that they still had a chance at the American dream.
“It doesn’t matter how they look. It doesn’t matter where they come from. Everybody wants to succeed,” Austin said. “They want a chance at that American future … and if the conservative movement shows them that that’s where they’re going to find that success, then guess where they’re going to go?”
Several people said Democrats were out of touch with Black voters.
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“The Black vote has long stood with the Democratic Party … and I feel like they have taken that for granted and they haven’t done much with it,” Martin from Grandville said. “We can’t be bought with socialist agendas. We are smart, and we’re able.”
“Never put people in a box,” said one man who traveled to Michigan from Florida to see “the greatest president of all time” speak at Van Andel Arena.
Another man said Democrats “don’t come to the hood and see what’s going on in the hood.”
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And Chris from Detroit said Democrats “think that we’re all broke.”
“They think that we need handouts. And it’s just not like that. We’re hardworking people,” Chris said. “They don’t have Black voters if they don’t have any broke Black voters.”
He added, “Trump is for everybody.”
To hear more from Trump supporters about what they think Democrats get wrong about Black men, click here.
Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.
