Donald Trump reportedly wants to hold a massive campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York City featuring Black hip-hop artists and athletes. According to a new report from the Associated Press, the former President of the United States hopes the move can help him earn key votes from Black and Latino Americans that could push him over the edge in this year's election.
Lynne Patton, a senior adviser on the campaign overseeing coalitions, says the Trump team is laying the groundwork for an expansive outreach toward minority voters. “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,” she said in an interview according to the AP. “These are people who are expressing openness to supporting President Trump both publicly and privately.”
Donald Trump Meets With Kanye West In The Oval Office
Plenty of artists in hip-hop have voiced support for Donald Trump over the years including Kanye West, Kodak Black, as well as Lil Pump, and more. Former President Barack Obama theorized why some rappers support Trump during an interview with The Atlantic in 2022. At the time, he previously suggested that, for some artists in the genre, "it’s all about the bling, the women, the money. A lot of rap videos are using the same measures of what it means to be successful as Donald Trump is. Everything is gold-plated. That insinuates itself and seeps into the culture."
Jasmine Harris, who works as Joe Biden's campaign director of Black media, labeled Trump a "fraud" in response to the report. “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," they told the AP. Be on the lookout for further updates on Donald Trump and the 2024 Presidential Election on HotNewHipHop.
[Via]