On-the-ground organizing has long been a hallmark of successful presidential campaigns, which typically invest tremendous resources into identifying would-be supporters and ensuring they vote. The task may be even more critical this fall given how few voters are excited about the Biden-Trump rematch.
But in Michigan, a pivotal state that flipped from Trump to Biden four years ago, several party officials confirmed that the Republican National Committee, overhauled by Trump allies after he clinched the nomination in March, has yet to set up any community centers for minority outreach. Office spaces to house the centers have been offered up by community members, but staffing has been an issue, said the Oakland County GOP chair, Vance Patrick.
“We’ve got all these carts but we have no horses yet,” Patrick said. “So, it’s all about making sure we have staffing when we open up these offices.”
In Wayne County, home to Detroit, local Republican officials say they are trying to figure it out on their own.
“It’s me setting up events or people just reaching out to me,” said Rola Makki, the outreach vice chair for the Michigan GOP, noting she hasn’t seen any minority outreach centers open in spite of claims to the contrary by Trump’s national campaign team.
In recent years, the RNC invested big in community centers and minority outreach based on the belief that real relationships with voters, even those who typically do not support Republicans, would make a difference on Election Day. Since taking over the RNC in the spring, however, Trump’s team has dramatically scaled back such efforts.
“Traditionally, Republicans have not been effective in their efforts to persuade Black and Hispanic voters to vote for our party,” said Lynne Patton, a senior adviser on the campaign overseeing coalitions work who has worked closely with the Trump family for decades. “But this is yet another reason why President Trump was adamant that his hand-picked leadership team assume control at the RNC and spearhead a unified effort to embrace the historic defection being witnessed within Black & Hispanic communities from the Democrat party and ensure it’s permanent.”
The campaign hired a national coalitions director last October. But the staffer, Derek Silver, left in March without explanation, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions. Silver did not return multiple requests for comment. No replacement has been announced.
Trump’s advisers reject criticism that they are not doing enough organizing or spending to reach minorities. James Blair, the campaign’s political director, said the campaign would not “broadcast” its spending or staffing levels, “but I assure you, it’s enough to ensure President Trump’s historic surge in support amongst Black and Hispanic voters sticks in November and beyond.”
Patton said Trump’s political team is laying the groundwork for a robust minority outreach program, although largely in private.
“We are speaking with Black leaders, we are speaking with small-business owners, we’re speaking with famous athletes, hip-hop artists, some of whom I think you’d be surprised if you knew who was talking with us right now,” Patton said in an interview. “These are people who are expressing openness to supporting President Trump both publicly and privately.”
She said the campaign is weeks away from rolling out any specific programs. The delayed timeline stands in stark contrast to the early outreach during Trump’s 2020 reelection bid. He started his coalition efforts, including “Latinos for Trump” and “Black Voices for Trump” programs, in the summer and fall of 2019, respectively.
Trump’s team insists he will improve his standing with voters of color, perhaps the most steadfast segment of the Democratic base, regardless of the strategy. Advisers believe the campaign has momentum with both African Americans and Hispanics, especially younger men, and note that Trump has proved he can win in his own way, disregarding traditional rules of politics.
Polls show that many Black and Hispanic adults are dissatisfied with Biden. According to polls by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Biden’s approval among Black adults has dropped from 94% when he started his term to 55% in March. Among Hispanic adults, it dropped from 70% to 32% in the same period.
An April poll by the Pew Research Center confirms the problem is especially acute among younger adults. In this poll, 43% of Black adults under age 50 said they approve of Biden, compared with 70% of those age 50 and older. Among Hispanics, 29% of younger adults said they approve, slightly less than the 42% who said that among those 50 and older.
The Trump campaign’s developing outreach strategy relies on using his celebrity and bombastic personality to create viral moments in communities of color that his advisers believe will have more impact than grassroots organizing or paid advertising alone. Advisers point to Trump’s appearances at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A, a New York bodega and a New York City police officer’s wake as examples of the strategy.
His allies argue that increased frustration about crime, inflation and immigration may win over some voters of color who have previously been less receptive to Trump’s record and divisive rhetoric.
“Communities of color aren’t leaning toward the right, they’re leaning toward Trump,” said Scott, the pastor and close Trump ally who is calling on the RNC to ramp up and reform its efforts. Scott said Black voters support Democrats because of the party’s longtime outreach to the community, which the GOP has not matched, and said the 2024 election presents an opportunity that the party shouldn’t waste. “Trump is the draw; Trump is the magnet.”
Biden has been spending millions of dollars on ads targeting Black and Latino voters in key states. That’s in addition to dozens of new office openings in minority neighborhoods. All the while, Biden’s team has frequently sent out Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation’s first Black female vice president, and other prominent leaders of color.
The Democratic president’s campaign points to record-low minority unemployment rates and education policies such as funding for historically Black colleges and universities and student loan forgiveness, as well as Biden’s stance on civil rights policy.
“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans proudly admitting that they have no real strategy to reach Black voters because they believe all they need is rap concerts and free chicken is only surprising if you haven’t paid attention to Trump’s fraudulent relationship to Black America for years,” said Jasmine Harris, the Biden campaign’s director of Black media, who described Trump as “a fraud” who “takes every opportunity available to him to demean our community.”
After the publication of this story, Patton responded to the critiques from the Biden campaign.
“No one is proudly admitting a ‘non-plan’ plan. That is simply desperate deflection from a deep blue party hemorrhaging Black and brown voters due to destructive immigration policies and billions in foreign aid that continues to put minority Americans last,” Patton said. “To the contrary, we are rolling out the largest, most comprehensive and strategic coalitions effort the Republican Party has ever undertaken and have detailed that plan to top surrogates, grassroots allies and even media outlets to great reception.”
Trump’s personal legal troubles may also be complicating his plans.
Campaign officials believe they should wait to come out with new initiatives until the conclusion of Trump’s New York criminal hush money trial, which is expected to extend deep into May, if not longer.
In the meantime, there are visible signs of a lack of investment in swing states. AP reporters visited the sites of several former community outreach centers that have now been shuttered.
In Allentown, Pennsylvania, the GOP vacated its Hispanic outreach office in January 2023, a few months after the midterm election, according to the landlord, Hem Vaidya. He said the office, which he recalled as a busy place, was staffed by Hispanic workers.
Republican officials recently approached him about renting the same space again, but he declined because they only wanted it for eight months. The storefront is now occupied by his own check-cashing business.
In Wisconsin, the RNC closed a Hispanic outreach center in Milwaukee after the 2022 midterms and it will soon be home to an ice cream shop, according to Daniel Walsh, leasing agent for the property.
Matt Fisher, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Republican Party, said the state GOP continues to operate a Black outreach center in Milwaukee. As for targeting Hispanic voters, the state party and RNC are still weighing how to approach that task.
In suburban Atlanta, one RNC community outreach center focused on outreach to Asian American voters was shuttered and later was reopened as a sex shop. AP reporters confirmed the venue’s change in ownership, which was originally reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Republican strategist Alice Stewart, a veteran of several GOP campaigns, said she is confident the Trump campaign will ultimately do what is necessary.
“But the key is they can’t just talk about minority outreach,” she said. “They have to do it.”
___
Republished with permission from The Associated Press.
Associated Press
41 comments
Don't Say FLA
April 28, 2024 at 11:33 am
Why would certain segments of US Citizens vote for a guy who, if he got into power, might even potentially round them up in camps and then get rid of them one way or another?
And with Trump, that seems like more than a mere potentiality. It seems pretty dang likely when his platform is “Make America Like It Was Before Minorities Started To Be Considered As Real Humans And Worth Every Bit As Much As White Folk.”
Vote for
Trumpgenocide of you and everyone like you! Yeah, no thanks. Hard pass on that.Impeach Biden
April 28, 2024 at 11:49 am
Hands down the biggest load of crap I have ever read on this site. I think Don’t Say has been doing some magic mushrooms this morning.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 1:17 pm
I agree with you 100%.
The AP is just a voice of the Liberals.
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 9:24 pm
TIM, blaming the messenger for the message, how intelligent. AP is neutral you fool.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 9:29 pm
Whitaker -👎👎
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 9:36 pm
TIM, sounds like i pegged you well. what a loser. 🦴🦴 down boy, you’ve been a bad dog.
Dont Say FLA
April 28, 2024 at 5:29 pm
If not white nationalism, what was it that was so “great” about America during some earlier, undisclosed era? I am all ears.
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 8:25 pm
PEACHY, you could use use lots of magic mushrooms. i heard they use them on PTSD patients to calm them down. you could sure use something. it’s not healthy to think the way you do.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 9:31 pm
Whitaker – SMH.
👎yet again.
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 9:41 pm
TIM, most people not eat up with hate can read a AP article and then process the info. you don’t seem to want to hear anything that does not support the maga narrative. good luck with that caveman.
Michael K
April 28, 2024 at 11:50 am
Trump always talks big, but rarely delivers. Remember his great health care plan? Infrastructure plan? Promise to release his tax returns?
Remember, this is the guy whose political career began with the racist birther lie.
Guam Might Tip
April 28, 2024 at 12:14 pm
I’m sure the IRS pays very close attention to Trump’s tax filings and he takes every deduction allowed by law. I’m sure his returns get extra vigilance. Of course you buy into the conspiracy theory.
Michael K
April 28, 2024 at 12:23 pm
Riddle me this: Why doesn’t he release his return like every other presidential candidate and incumbent? He only paid $750 in federal income tax the year he was elected. Twist yourself into a pretzel to explain that one.
But you ignore is racist and xenophobic history.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 1:20 pm
👍👍👍
This site needs some ‘thumbs’ on their comments pages.
Trump 2024!
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 8:16 pm
TIM, post something that is not maga and yeah, you might get a lot more thumbs up.
Kid Rock
April 28, 2024 at 8:59 pm
Who made the hillbilly from Tennessee the board moderator?
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 9:07 pm
KID ROCK, just a tip for a guy who wanted more thumbs up. was the childish name calling used to make a point of some kind? i don’t speak maga so i don’t know about maga codes, secret words, and the name-calling bull.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 9:32 pm
👍👍
Richard D
April 28, 2024 at 12:11 pm
Trump and the Republican party are using “right-wing populist” tactics to fool “have-not” voters who are unlikely to benefit from Republican policies. Republicans are inherently conservative and anti-progressive. They’re market-oriented and promote policies intended to maintain society’s hierarchy, thus favoring the “haves” and individual initiative, as opposed to government social programs intended to achieve equality by supporting upward mobility for the “have-nots.” Republicans tend to favor people who were born into comfortable circumstances rather than those who were born poor and have remained so.
Pay Up Buttercup
April 28, 2024 at 12:25 pm
I always thought this was the land of opportunity and why so many seek to come here. Some people take full advantage of the opportunities here, learn, the language, apply themselves either academically or trade. Lots of stories out there about success. Some don’t. You throw money at it for year after year and some just don’t want to go to work. They want to sit home, do nothing and get a check from the government. Now we have this latest group of college students that want us taxpayers to pay for their education. That’s a big negative. Pay your loans like most,others have.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 1:22 pm
👍👍
PeterH
April 28, 2024 at 12:43 pm
Generally Trump’s promises are nonsense. You need to look no further than his three trillion dollar ‘build the wall’ BS. Remember Mexico was planning to go bankrupt to please the birther-in-chief!
Next up we have Trump’s promise of a ‘much better and much less expensive’ national health care plan. Listening to Trump mimics a laundry cycle!
Wash, rinse, repeat!
tim
April 28, 2024 at 1:24 pm
👎👎
“Fried” Chikin
April 28, 2024 at 12:50 pm
Yup, Trump is a racist. Just like abortion. When you can’t campaign on the economy. When you can’t campaign on immigration. When you can’t campaign on foreign policy. When you can’t campaign on crime, you go to Demo playbook of BS. Repubs are racist. Repubs are coming for your SS, and Medicare. Repubs care only about the rich. A big yawn from me.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 1:25 pm
👍👍
Dems think we are stupid.
Impeach Biden
April 28, 2024 at 2:01 pm
Many of their constituents are. Just look at AOC for instance. Amazon wanted to put a HDQ in her district. She chased them and all that tax revenue off. Then there is that activist Stacey Abrams that chased off the baseball all star game from ATL. Just a couple of examples. Then we could look at other members of the squad. These people would bankrupt the most successful Starbucks franchise out there.
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 8:32 pm
TIM, i think you are projecting, we KNOW you are stupid. short-term thinking over long-term thinking, is pretty stupid.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 9:37 pm
👎👎🙄
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 8:29 pm
FRIED CHICKEN, yeah, i can see if you are white, rich, and in a secure sub-division, then , yeah, don’t care. not all are as lucky as you. we need a fair government for all, not just some.
Monday news
April 28, 2024 at 4:55 pm
If you want to get attention offer 170.000 annual for starts.most of the new migrants will vote too
Earl Pitts "AMERICA'S BIG VOICE ON THE RIGHT" American
April 28, 2024 at 5:47 pm
Good evening America,
You seem to have forgotten something.
ITS NOT NEWS UNTIL EARL PITTS AMERICAN WEIGHS IN !!!!!!
EARL WEIGHS IN:
1.) I did not get the American Jewish Vote. Why you ask? BECAUSE 8IDEN LOST THEM TO TRUMP BY $UCKIN H@MAS’ DlCKS. So we have 100% of American Jews voting Trump & Earl did not have to lift even one of his Sage Fingers to make it happen.
2.) I did not get 100% of the Black Male vote. Why you ask? BECAUSE 8IDEN LOST THEM BY TRASHING THE USA’s ECONOMEY STARTING ON DAY ONE OF HIS SADMINISTRATION. So we have 50% of Blacks voting Trump & Earl did not have to lift even one of his Sage Fingers to make it happen.
THATS ENOUGH TO NOT JUST WIN BUT TO “LANDSLIDE” This Election.
BUT WAIT THERES MORE:
Due to Tay Tay’s Jewish heratige she has agreed to make a Grammy Winning Album with me, The Big Voice On The Right” titled “A-MAGA-MERICA THE BEAUTIFUL” featuring The Big Voice On The Right Earl Pitts American, with a 5 minute introduction by none-other than Donald Trump.
This will Top The Charts and Totally Lock Down all of Tay Tay’s Swiftys for the Trump Vote.
TO RECAP:
100% of the American Jewish vote + 50% of the Black vote + 100% of the Swifty vote + my friend Speedy Gonzales has around 73.26% of the Hispanic vote already locked down for Trump.
America, its gotten so bad that 8iden and his croneys (how ya doing 0bama?) are just prolonging their inevitable loss to try and squeeze some more money out of Ukraine.
Earl Pitts American
Speedy Gonzalez
April 28, 2024 at 8:26 pm
Thankyou Senior earl for the oppurtunity to help,
My cousin SloPoke worked so hard I want por-forvor for please that SloPoke gets all credits and praise as he is the hard working of our famila porforvor
Speedy Pitts Gonzlez American
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 8:34 pm
EARL AKA SPEEDY, take that clown show to the gop convention this summer, i’m sure they’ll love it.
Speedy Gonzalez
April 28, 2024 at 8:50 pm
Thanks Rick,
I’ve already booked our rooms for the convention, we’ve got you bunking with Speedy & SloPoke and you will kick off the events with a Sage Speach.
You and Speedy will speak for SloPoke as hes a Savant Genius who is unable to do public speaking as effectively as you, My Main Man Rick,
Thanks for your hard work that is pushing Don & Ron over the finish line.
You will have your choice of which Nation you would like to be our Sage Ambassador to.
We could not have crossed the finish-line without you Rick,
Earl Pitts American
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 9:19 pm
EARL’S FLORIDA MAGA CLOWN SHOW
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 10:01 pm
EARL, i know you are trying to be funny, but as i said before, forget that. anyway, you do know that without a doubt desantis is history don’t you? he will be on the dan quayle trash heap till he dies. so get that desantis is somebody shit out of your head, or not. i know you are some kind of fool, i just don’t care to know. to me you are best known as EARL SHITTS, THE PUNK’S PUNK.
tim
April 28, 2024 at 9:41 pm
👍👍😊
tim
April 28, 2024 at 9:45 pm
Earl Pitts – I love the humor and you are spot on.
Trump – four more years!
Rick Whitaker
April 28, 2024 at 10:01 pm
EARL = POS
Impeach Biden
April 29, 2024 at 5:36 am
Rick = Angry Hillbilly
rick whitaker
April 29, 2024 at 11:43 am
PEACHY = NAME-CALLING MAGA CULTIST
Comments are closed.