President Donald Trump told a roaring crowd of Make America Great Again rally attendees in Lebanon, Ohio, on Friday that he expects Republicans to get a good turnout of African-American votes this midterm election.
“We’re asking all African-American voters to honor us with their support this November,” Trump said. “Get away from the Democrats. Get away from the Democrats, they’ve done nothing … I think we’re going to get the African-American vote.”
The president was speaking at his third Make America Great Again (MAGA) rally of the week as he maintains an unusually intense schedule of campaign appearances; he’s seeking to help Republicans keep their present majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives. (He holds another rally on Saturday, in Kentucky.)
African-Americans have overwhelmingly voted Democratic for decades, but Trump made some small inroads during the 2016 presidential campaign by repeatedly challenging them to break away.
“I mean, what the hell do you have to lose?” Trump asked.
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When the votes were counted in 2016, the chief executive received 8 percent of African-American votes. But that was an improvement over the 6 percent received by Gov. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.
More recently, surveys show Trump’s approval rating among African-Americans at 36 percent.
Trump opened his Lebanon address by telling the crowd, “I am really proud to report that earlier today, we secured the release of pastor Andrew Brunson from Turkey.” That news drew sustained cheers from the packed house. The rally was held in the Warren County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, which is near Cincinnati.
“He is now free from jail and he is now in the air heading to Germany,” Trump said of Brunson, “where he’ll get off for a brief check and I think he’s going to be in great shape. And then he’s coming to Washington, D.C., tomorrow and we’ll say hello to him.”
He repeated his now-familiar recitation of economic and foreign achievements since taking office.
“Because America is booming, America is thriving, and America is winning, really winning, again. And we are viewing now for the first time in many decades a phenomenon called, so simply, ‘America First,’ and it’s about time.”
“It’s been Republican leadership and we are here tonight to make sure that continues full speed ahead,” Trump said. “Because America is booming, America is thriving, and America is winning, really winning, again. And we are viewing now for the first time in many decades a phenomenon called, so simply, ‘America First,’ and it’s about time.”
He continued, “The unemployment rate has just fallen to the lowest rate in more than 50 years — manufacturing confidence just announced has reached an all-time high. Think what that is, confidence … If you remember, the previous administration said, ‘Manufacturing jobs, they’re gone, they’re dead, you’d need a magic wand to bring them back.'”
“I guess we have a magic wand,” said Trump. “We’re bringing them back. They’re coming back from Mexico. They’re coming back from Canada. They’re coming back from everywhere because they are all wanting to be where the action is, they all want to be in the U.S.A.”
“That’s where the jobs are. We are now the hottest economy anywhere in the world.”
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