Black Support for Trump Exaggerated, Charlamagne tha God Argues
US radio personality Charlamagne tha God suggests that polls indicating a potential shift of black American voters from the Democratic party to Donald Trump may be exaggerated.
In a BBC Americast interview, Charlamagne stated, “Everyone keeps talking about Trump making inroads with black men, but I don’t see it.”
As the November presidential election nears, both Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump have intensified efforts to attract black voters, a crucial Democratic demographic.
Although some polls show Trump gaining support among black voters in swing states, Charlamagne expressed skepticism. “I’m not sure those polls are accurate,” he told the BBC. “Some black men may support Trump, but that is not the general sentiment,” added Charlamagne, whose real name is Lenard McKelvey.
A recent poll by the New York Times and Sienna College indicated that over 20% of black voters in key swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—might back Trump in November. This represents a significant shift from 2020, when 92% of black voters nationally chose Biden, according to Pew Research.
Americast: Is Biden Losing the Black Vote?
However, McKelvey, host of the widely popular radio show “The Breakfast Club,” with over 4.5 million weekly listeners, believes this support may be “a little over-overstated.” He attributes the negative polling for Democrats more to black voter frustration than a genuine shift in voting patterns.
“History shows that the Democratic party hasn’t fulfilled many of its promises,” he said. “Black people are always yours to lose,” he cautioned Democrats and President Biden.
Biden’s campaign has invested millions targeting black voters, whom he recently called the “backbone” of the Democratic party. Nonetheless, issues like inflation, immigration, and the Israel-Gaza conflict have eroded his support.
Trump, too, has made efforts to win black voters, from posing with black Americans at fast-food chains to inviting rappers on stage at rallies. There’s also speculation that he might choose Tim Scott, a black senator from South Carolina, as his running mate to attract more African-American voters.
“Just because someone has black skin doesn’t mean they can energize black voters,” McKelvey said. “And Tim Scott definitely won’t move that needle.”
McKelvey criticized both Trump and Biden as “the two worst candidates ever in the history of presidential elections.”
While he didn’t endorse a candidate, he told the BBC, “I’m voting to preserve democracy this year,” a phrase frequently used by Biden’s campaign.
In the previous election cycle, Biden caused controversy by saying African-Americans “ain’t black” if they don’t vote Democrat, a comment for which he quickly apologized. McKelvey, however, wasn’t offended. “I’ve never been mad at that statement… because that was his honest opinion,” he said.
