Why are Mr. Trump's efforts to connect with potential African American, minority and women voters failing?

2016-09-22T02:35:45-04:00

Earlier this week Mr. Trump stated that AAs were in the worst shape "ever, ever, ever." It is hard to say if he was just making a statement or trying to appeal to disaffected AAs for potential votes. In any case, I think he could not be further from the truth. What are your thoughts?

Response by COL Lee Flemming made Sep 22 at 2016 2:40 AM

2016-09-22T02:40:25-04:00

My statement from earlier in the week highlighted that Mr. Trump's assertion is ridiculous! The 5pm news and tabloid perspective is about as far from the truth as his statement can be. Opportunity and access to all of what our great Nation has to offer is what makes Mr. Trump's statement asinine. Crime, poverty and discontent have always existed, but the genuine ability to succeed and have that success viewed as an excepted norm is "new", and is the distinction. Once Mr. Trump truly empathizes with AAs and treats them not as a project or an aspirational voter block, but as citizens that hate divisive, status quo and business as usual politics he will gain a percentage greater than 1%. The AA community is no more Black Lives Matter than it is criminal. The AA community is not Reverand Sharpton or Reverand Wright. The problem is that when you view the community as a monolithic entity that is going along with the masses and crap you see on TV you make snap statements like that. How can I vote for a man that lumps me in with all of the negative junk that he thinks AAs are? I will proudly continue to serve at his behest when / if he is elected President, but he has got to change his tune. He has to be smarter than that! Mr. Trump doesn't have to get my vote, but as the future President he absolutely has to want my vote!!

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 22 at 2016 4:26 AM

2016-09-22T04:26:27-04:00

http://www.npr.org/2016/09/21/494883725/trump-says-african-americans-are-in-their-worst-shape-ever-the-data-disagrees

Trump Says African-American Communities In 'Worst Shape' Ever; Data Disagree

A look at major indicators suggests that while African-Americans lag behind the rest of the country in many key areas, they've also experienced steady economic and socioeconomic gains.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 22 at 2016 4:27 AM

2016-09-22T04:27:33-04:00

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/09/01/so-much-for-trumps-outreach-to-african-americans/?utm_term=.faef36ea543c

So much for Trump’s outreach to African Americans

Trump can't face the congregants.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 22 at 2016 4:28 AM

2016-09-22T04:28:31-04:00

I saw some pictures form his African American Outreach event and I was struck by how few African Americans were there. He obviously has a ways to go.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Sep 22 at 2016 5:06 AM

2016-09-22T05:06:45-04:00

His mouth is his own worst enemy and as I said before, I think that has to do with his limited socialization. His Father sent him to Military School which I think helped a little in the socialization department but after that he has been an Executive in charge of others and in my view socially retarded because of that isolation. Both his Father and Older Brother (suicide) died at a relatively early age so Donald Trump lost his guiding elders more or less. I have seen similar among other Executives that have been executives most their life. Still I also feel partly his responsibility as a leader to spot the defect himself and do something about it BUT it doesn't seem he realizes it is a problem. I think his Father should have had him in the employee position longer, reporting to others. I kind of feel his kids are going to have similar problems if they ever enter political life. I'm not sure if Donald Trump is ever going to fix that issue. I kind of feel sorry for him in a way because if he can't socialize properly with segments of society, he is missing out in life to an extent.

Response by PO2 Dave Cutsinger made Sep 22 at 2016 6:06 AM

2016-09-22T06:06:44-04:00

Citing "Stop and Frisk" nationwide at an event obstensibly aimed at AA voters in response to a question on how to reduce AA on AA violence just shows Trump's ignorance on something that went on in the city he lives in. These out reaches to the AA community are largely expected to be trying to show the liberal, white community that Trump's not a horrible racist. Epic fail.

Response by CPT Tom Monahan made Sep 22 at 2016 6:51 AM

2016-09-22T06:51:21-04:00

Here is a different view. Is it failing or are the Dems so affraid that they've engaged in a smear campaign? Is the media employing old fashion yellow journalism? Think about this: Trump is actually reaching out to black voters. Has a Republican done this since Teddy Roosevelt? With regard to women the pIlls show single women are negative yet married women are positive on Trumps message.

Response by SPC James Harsh made Sep 22 at 2016 7:37 AM

2016-09-22T07:37:43-04:00

Trump tried which is more than Mitt Romney as far as reaching out to African American voters. There's not really much that can be done.

Response by CPT Adam P. made Sep 22 at 2016 9:00 AM

2016-09-22T09:00:57-04:00

I think the problem is republicans don't understand that we can see and hear what they are saying. The majority of black people think President Obama is doing a great job as the president. We are not a monolithic group so there are some that hate what he is doing, but the overwhelming majority love him and his family. Over the past 7 1/2 years, republicans have done everything they can think of to make him a failure. Right now, today, you can find people that will say he is not an American, that he is a Muslim (which should be a problem because of freedom of religion, but...) and his wife is a transgendered woman and not a real woman. We can see how republicans are trying to infringe on our right to vote. We can see and hear how they talk about black people like we are animals. I heard a conservative radio host just yesterday start his program by saying animals are running loose in Charlotte. And then on top of all that, you want blacks to vote for the same economic policies that didn't work in the 80's. Black people don't vote for republicans (not just Trump) because we can see what you are doing. We can hear what you are saying and none of it lines up with what you say you believe. Most people forget that black people are very religious and have very conservative social views. At the same time, we can see how republicans misrepresent the faith and try to use Christianity as a weapon to get what they want. We've seen that movie before...

Response by SGT William Howell made Sep 22 at 2016 9:14 AM

2016-09-22T09:14:45-04:00

I really think it is because he lacks a soul. When he speaks in his mind it sounds better that what comes out of his mouth, but he does not think about who he is talking to. I bet his speech writers contemplate suicide at least 3 or 4 time a day.

JFK was a man that could woo a nation. My hard line conservative grandfather said Kennedy was exactly what the country needed when Kennedy was in office. (I am sure he was referring to the cold war and not race equality. My grandfather was quite the racist.) He was right though. Kennedy talked America into working together, living together, and started the ending of segregation. I don't think either of these two candidates is that person or even close.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 22 at 2016 9:23 AM

2016-09-22T09:23:45-04:00

Probably because people aren't stupid enough to forget all of his hate-speech, misogyny, racism, birtherism and downright disgusting rhetoric from the primaries (and in the birther instance, the last five years).

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Sep 22 at 2016 9:24 AM

2016-09-22T09:24:11-04:00

Considering all the racial division just in the past year, I think he's trying to appeal to the ones who feel like they've been forgotten about... like you said, the disaffected. The biggest problem is that the public has preconceived perceptions of political parties.

Republicans equal rich, white, men.
Democrats equal poor, non-white men and women.

Personally, I agree with you, I don't think he could be further from the truth. I understand that he's trying to appeal to the masses for votes, but I don't believe black people are in the worst shape ever.

Just using you as an example, you are an Army Colonel in the United States military. That is an extremely high rank and commands a lot of respect. The only way you could go any higher would be to jump into the General ranks. I'm sure you had your own struggles on your military journey and you may have come across your share of discrimination because prejudice will never be completely stamped out. But if things were truly as bad as the media would like us to think, I couldn't imagine you'd ever advance past the rank of a boot Lieutenant... and that's if you were allowed to pick up an officer commission to begin with.

It's my personal belief that with enough effort, anyone can succeed.

Response by SSG Wally Lawver made Sep 22 at 2016 9:48 AM

2016-09-22T09:48:59-04:00

Because they have fallen for the slanted,controlled,and manipulated "reporting" that is the liberal media, and believe Hillary is the right choice for them. Voting for Hillary because she is a woman is like eating a turd cause it looks like a tootsie roll. And AA have always voted Democrat, so why change, well because the Democrats and their liberal policies have brought us the chaos that is America today,,,St louis and Detroit are 2 good examples of long term Democratic liberal policies...Black lives mean nothing to Hillary, black votes do (dead or alive)

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 22 at 2016 9:53 AM

2016-09-22T09:53:57-04:00

I guess I'll have to be the contrarian here, although I am no Trump fan.
What Trump is doing is clearly and deliberately political. He does not need to nor is he likely to nor is he even trying to "Win" the African- or Latin-American vote. He is attempting to get a larger share of that vote, specifically in states that could go either way such as North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, and Ohio. The logic is that if he can land even a small percentage increase over what Romney got among those populations in swing states, he has a shot to win the state overall. Make no mistake, this is precisely the calculus. What he would actually do for those communities in terms of issues that matter to them (if "them" can be considered a monolith - which they aren't) is questionable, and those communities rightly do question them.

What I think that those communities (and all Americans) can expect is economic policies that attempt to facilitate job growth through protectionist practices. This is generally anathema to Republican free trade orthodoxy. By and large, free trade makes products cheaper on the consumer end, which is good for you and me unless you work in manufacturing. Since many countries that we have free trade agreements with can vastly undercut our labor, taxation, and regulatory costs, for a company that manufactures products the calculation becomes those savings versus increased transportation cost. When the former becomes more costly than the latter, manufacturers move overseas. Many examples abound. Trump aims to attack this problem through cutting the corporate tax rate, reopening some of these trade agreements, and encouraging repatriation of US Corporate capital as a sort of private sector moneyed stimulus program. I have to say, of all the things Trump has espoused, this idea has the most merit. While the practical execution of this remains undetailed (and will until several months into a prospective Trump administration), this has a lot of potential to stimulate an economic boom.

As for social issues, Trump is onto something when he points out how Democratic policies have not made life demonstrably better for many urban minority communities. However, he is very tone deaf when he rails on about how bad off these communities are. He would do well to promote ideas that would address issues these communities care about - traditionally Democratic turf such as improving schools. If Trump promoted policies that these communities care about, he has a fair chance to increase his share of votes in minority demographics.

Before I get eviscerated by the community for being a shill, I would point out that these communities have been getting lip service from both parties, but chiefly the Democrats for decades. Secretary Clinton is no different (on purpose) than the long line of Democratic politicians that took the minority voter, specifically the African-American voter for granted with the usual tripe about how she is their friend and Trump will return the days of Jim Crow.
Trump, to his credit, is actually going into these communities, talking to leaders there, and engaging people the Republicans have basically conceded to the other party. If he refines his message, he does have an opportunity to improve his numbers there.

Then we shall see what really happens once one or the other of them is elected.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 22 at 2016 10:26 AM

2016-09-22T10:26:46-04:00

Eight years later, and we have Ferguson, Baltimore and now Charlotte. Law Enforcement is the enemy and BLM rules. Chicago is a war zone. My thoughts are many are not doing their homework and listening to those that profit from their misery. Blacks and Hispanics have fared far worse than anyone due to the economic situation and corruption than most other races or ethnicties, yet our nation has the most black representation than in history, starting with the POTUS. Divisiveness only helps one party, the Democrats. I don't know of a single person that hates or makes hateful comments about blacks or legal immigrants, yet we see hate speech against the whites all the time. "Can't we just get along?"

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Sep 22 at 2016 10:28 AM

2016-09-22T10:28:44-04:00

He's a racist.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 22 at 2016 12:39 PM

2016-09-22T12:39:25-04:00

Who says they're failing?

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 22 at 2016 12:46 PM

2016-09-22T12:46:26-04:00

Is that 100% failure or 1% failure? Makes a huge difference. It can't possibly be the former, so he must be doing something right, somewhere, with some people. Right?

Response by 1stSgt Nelson Kerr made Sep 22 at 2016 1:00 PM

2016-09-22T13:00:17-04:00

I am not Black but I spend most of my time among asian-americans and the felling there seems to be that if he is bigotry and hateful against so many groups it is onlu a matter of time until he joins his supporters in hating Asians. His endorsement of Japanese-American Concentration camps did not help him there either.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 22 at 2016 1:16 PM

2016-09-22T13:16:02-04:00

When we compare the AA living in poverty to other Americans living in poverty, I doubt skin color or ethnic background has ever mattered less in this nations history. That said, it is a horrible time in this nations history to be an unskilled or low skilled worker for anyone regardless of skin color or ethnic background. AAs who can't find decent jobs are going to be frustrated.

Response by CW2 Louis Melendez made Sep 22 at 2016 2:25 PM

2016-09-22T14:25:50-04:00

Sir, honestly this is a very complicated question.

It would take me a page to explain my point because we are talking about different agendas (i.e. African Americans, Hispanics, Woman, Young Voters, etc.)

However, I think that everything boils down to the fact that us as a society stopped worrying and caring about others and started thinking selfish and self-entitled. Then, add the fact that Donald Trump is not a politician and fails to use the right words when he talks to people. He really needs to have a strong and united staff if he wants to make a positive change and change the course of this wonderful country.

This was a really good question, BTW

Response by 1SG Al Brown made Sep 22 at 2016 3:15 PM

2016-09-22T15:15:35-04:00

The don't like him or Republican policies, and they have been convinced that Democrat policies and programs are better suited for their quality of life. Most are correct in this assumption. They have liberal values. Of course some are suited for non-democrat policies, but good luck convincing them so. Nothing like being in the pigeon hole. In the mean time, Mr. Trump will pander the best he can to avoid being endlessly called a racist. Can you imagine being called the names are both sides are slinging.

Response by MSG Dan Castaneda made Sep 22 at 2016 4:09 PM

2016-09-22T16:09:09-04:00

I'm a minority (2nd generation American born) and I will be voting for him come November.

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Sep 22 at 2016 4:50 PM

2016-09-22T16:50:09-04:00

Cause he keeps having Ditsy Blond Moments, my apologies to all blonds that it may offend.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 22 at 2016 4:58 PM

2016-09-22T16:58:19-04:00

I wasn't under the impression that they were failing. The latest stats I saw showed a 5% support of Trump expanding beyond 20%.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 22 at 2016 7:51 PM

2016-09-22T19:51:55-04:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kathy-miller-donald-trump_us_57e40490e4b08d73b82ff48b?

Trump Ohio County Campaign Chair Resigns After Racist Comments

Kathy Miller explains her remarks in an interview with The Huffington Post.

Response by Col Dona Marie Iversen made Sep 22 at 2016 8:47 PM

2016-09-22T20:47:46-04:00

I'm not a mind reader nor do I know the complete content of his speech. Was he possibly referring to the recent shootings, protests, unemployment based on the written and spoken media stats?

Response by 1stSgt Nelson Kerr made Sep 27 at 2016 4:18 PM

2016-09-27T16:18:25-04:00

trumps answer to the B problems of the inner city was unconstitutional racism against that community, using a program that did not work

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2016 6:39 PM

2016-10-16T18:39:44-04:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxGYWVArs3A

Mexican Trump Supporter Verbally Destroys Anaheim City Council Member Kris Murray

BACKGROUND: On April 26, 2016 the Anaheim City Council considered a resolution to denounce Presidential Candidate Donald Trump. City Councilwoman Kris Murray...

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2016 6:41 PM

2016-10-16T18:41:11-04:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIj9jmf4mSM

Brilliant Trump Supporter Kids Wreck Old Racist Idiot Adults In Atlanta Street Debate (REACTION)

Donald Trump held a rally in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, June 15 2016, and of course the typical crazies came out to protest him. Unfortunately for one of...