The Rise Of Black Support For Trump
Authore3d by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Fearing backlash, some black people feel they can only whisper, "I'm voting for Trump."
But others are becoming louder and prouder in voicing support for former President Donald Trump.
Mark Fisher, co-founder of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) group in Rhode Island, made waves recently with his endorsement of the former president.
"I knew I was going to pay a price for it," Mr. Fisher told The Epoch Times, "but I felt like the benefit of doing it far outweighed the cost of me playing it safe."
Mr. Fisher said he felt obligated "to clear a path" for those who think the way he does.
He and other pro-Trump black people are considered renegades.
THE NIGGAS FOR TRUMP MOVEMENT HAS BEGUN BABY!
— Omarr Shabazz (@OmarrShabazz) August 26, 2023
🙌🏾 THANK YOU JOE BIDEN, WHAT A BIG WIN FOR TRUMP.#FJB #blackout #Blacks4Trump pic.twitter.com/IFLbsJuWdm
That's partly because President Trump's foes have tried to brand him as a racist unworthy of votes from black Americans. But it's also because he's a Republican.
For generations, black leaders and churches have encouraged black people to vote for Democrats, including President Joe Biden.
But the tide seems to be turning. Opinion polls are showing that more black people are willing to break rank, as Mr. Fisher did.
Since President Trump's win in 2016, black support for him has more than tripled, now exceeding 20 percent in some surveys.
Polling suggests that black people and other minorities who once spurned President Trump now appear willing to give his candidacy a fresh look—a trend that could help spell the difference between victory and defeat in the 2024 election.
The Biden campaign didn't respond to a request for comment.
Three main factors appear to be spurring black people to pivot toward President Trump, according to Mr. Fisher and others who spoke to The Epoch Times: the economy, the criminal justice system, and the influence of other black people going public with their support.
Blacks for Trump are on fire outside the Fulton County Jail.pic.twitter.com/vRanvDZ8wC
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) August 24, 2023
Americans are continuing to feel the pinch of economic conditions under President Biden. Just about everyone, regardless of skin color, feels the weight of higher prices for groceries, gasoline, housing, and other essentials; for months, polls have been showing that a vast majority of citizens disapprove of the president's economic policies, dubbed "Bidenomics."
People are also noticing the justice system's seemingly unjust treatment of President Trump—a fate many black people have experienced.
"They're saying to themselves: 'Now wait a minute; this looks very familiar,'" Mr. Fisher said. "Subconsciously, that's a powerful thing."
Black people also lament that authorities are letting violent crime and illegal immigrants run amok, while they're targeting President Trump and others for alleged nonviolent offenses.
Having prominent black people, including musicians, revealing pro-Trump opinions, has emboldened others to do the same.
Mr. Fisher said these endorsements made him feel he wasn't alone; those trailblazers inspired him to come out of the shadows.
"I saw other black people expressing themselves, displaying courage and independent thought, not being afraid of what other people think about them," he said. "And I felt that my community needed me to do that too."
Strong Reactions
Although Mr. Fisher said he "took a lot of heat" for endorsing President Trump, he also got "a lot of powerful, impactful, and profound messages from people all around the world," along with interview requests from as far away as Japan.
President Trump thanked Mr. Fisher with a surprise phone call and a dinner invitation. Some people excoriated the former president for doing so, considering Mr. Fisher's history with BLM.
President Trump and BLM have accused each other of sowing seeds of hatred and violence.
"I feel like the white racists hate me and the black racists hate me," Mr. Fisher said. "But what I'm doing is separating the wheat from the chaff. I'm creating a safe space for all those who want to be on the right side of history, who want to come together for the betterment of America and improvement of the people of America.
"People are welcome to join in on that vision, or walk away from it. It's that simple."
This fall, before Mr. Fisher revealed his support for President Trump, black rapper Waka Flocka Flame posted a profile picture of himself alongside President Trump on X, formerly Twitter. Separately, he posted: "TRUMP2024."
The photo attracted at least 13.5 million views. It also sparked controversy for the rapper, who had previously made derogatory remarks about the former president.
Top Trump adviser Bruce LeVell told The Epoch Times that the musical artist had quietly begun shifting toward the former president some time ago; Mr. LeVell and Waka Flocka Flame met in 2022 and posed for a photo together.
Being Informed
Other black people, whether prominent or not, are starting to realize that Big Tech companies and government agencies worked together to suppress and twist information about President Trump, other political figures, and many hot-button issues in society, Mr. LeVell said.
“This is, as I call it, ‘The Season of Exposure,’" he said. "And the great lies are being exposed."
A woman who goes by the name McKayla Rose on X agrees. Ms. Rose, 36, of Dallas, spoke to The Epoch Times on condition that her real name not be used because she wants to avoid repercussions.
Ms. Rose said she initially "fell into the propaganda of Trump being bad."
🔥🚨 Trump’s arrest is only making him more popular in the black community!!
— TONY™️ (@TONYxTWO) August 25, 2023
“Trump is a brother now.”
“They f**ks with people that been to jail.”
MUST WATCH & SHARE!! 🔥👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/LctpGLZzAf
"I was like, 'Man, if everybody hates Trump, he must be a bad guy,'" she said.
But things started to change for her about four years ago. As a mother of two, Ms. Rose became increasingly concerned about issues affecting her children. So she started spending more time researching government policies and politics.
Originally from Tampa, Ms. Rose grew up amid a mix of white people, Hispanics, and Asians. That real-life experience convinced her that "America is not a racist country," countering leftists' claims that it is.
"I know the majority of people aren't racist, and I had more faith that people wouldn't vote for such a blatantly 'racist' person," she said, referring to how mainstream media tended to portray President Trump.
Ms. Rose started seeking unfiltered sources of information. She began following President Trump's Twitter account and listening to his public speeches.
She started to see a pattern. After watching one of President Trump's speeches, Ms. Rose would see leftists and news media outlets "completely, like, twist his words," she said.
Ms. Rose said she thinks other black people have started to similarly inform themselves.
"I think Trump has overcome a lot of what has happened to him, and I really believe a lot more people are with him now, more than ever, especially black folks," she said.
Still, black Trump supporters can expect to be ostracized, Ms. Rose said, as she has been.
After revealing her pro-Trump stance, Ms. Rose said she lost many of her black friends; she has been called a "coon," "an Uncle Tom," and "the 'N-word.'"
But the opposition from white liberals is the worst, she said, because "they're just so condescending."
She said they ask her: "How could you vote for someone that hates you? You know he hates your people, right?"
And they tell her: "You're so dumb; you don't know any better."
"And I've basically had them telling me that, because I'm black, I'm obligated to be Democrat—and that I must hate myself because I'm black and I'm a Trump supporter," Ms. Rose said.
Knowing they would face similar reactions for voicing support for President Trump, "a lot of black folks are still in hiding," she said.
"They stay silent because they want to get invited to the barbecue," she said. "If you are black and you support Trump, you really kind of get disowned—not just in your own family but also in the black community."
Neither Biden nor Trump?
Marv Neal, a 52-year-old black man who hosts a weekly radio show on Boston's "Urban Heat" radio station, 98.1 FM, agreed that black people are reluctant to admit they dislike President Joe Biden or his policies—and therefore might consider casting a ballot for President Trump.
But Mr. Neal told The Epoch Times that he and others have been disenchanted with both major parties' candidates.
This impression fits with findings of a new survey. A GenForward survey reported on Dec. 12 that about 20 percent to 25 percent of most minorities would have voted for "someone other than" President Trump or President Biden if the election had been held last month.
Mr. Neal, a registered Democrat, said, "Just because you're a Democrat doesn't mean you're going to get my vote."
He hasn't always felt that way.
"I was raised Democrat and it was just like, everything was Democrat ... you got to vote Democrat, Democrat, Democrat, Democrat," he said.
But Mr. Neal said another black broadcaster at the same radio station, Larry Higginbottom, changed his perspective.
"Like Larry says: 'Vote your interest or whoever speaks to your interest. It doesn't matter if they're Democrat or Republican.'"
Thus far, President Biden's policies seem to lack benefits for "average, everyday citizens," Mr. Neal said.
Homeless shelters in Boston are "at capacity," and legal residents can't get the help they need because money is being spent to help immigrants and foreign nations, he said. Hotel rooms are being used to house immigrants, so the rates for any unused rooms have gone up for everyone else, he said.
Mr. Neal said he initially disliked President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. "I was like: 'Why you have to act like that, man? Why can't you just help these people?'"
But he said that now he sees that those border security policies benefited U.S. citizens.
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