Trump: Democrats have 'failed and betrayed the African-American community'


During a rally in Wisconsin Tuesday night, Donald Trump made a play for the votes of African-Americans, a demographic he said the Democratic Party has "taken for granted for decades."
Trump made his remarks in West Bend, where the population is 95 percent white. Earlier this month, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that among African-Americans, support for Trump is at 1 percent. During his speech, the Republican nominee said Democrats have "failed and betrayed the African-American community," and see them "only as votes, not as individual human beings worthy of a better future." Trump, who declined an invitation to the NAACP convention in July, said he will "rebuild inner cities," and his opponent, Hillary Clinton, "doesn't care at all about the hurting people of this country," who are "suffering" because of her.
Trump also said Clinton is "against the police, believe me. You know it and I know it and guess what, she knows it." In a message for any "lawbreaker hurting innocent people" watching at home, Trump said their "free reign will soon come crashing to an end," because he will "break up the gangs, cartels, and criminal syndicates terrorizing our neighborhoods." When it comes to education, Trump said he will end tenure and merit pay for teachers while promoting school choice. He also vowed to renegotiate NAFTA, make it a "costly proposition" for American businesses to leave the country, and said he's fighting for "peaceful regime change in our own country."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The state of Britain's Armed Forces
The Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
By The Week UK
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish
Under the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Crossword: April 21, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Biden slams Trump's Social Security cuts
Speed Read In his first major public address since leaving office, Biden criticized the Trump administration's 'damage' and 'destruction'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador refuses to return US deportee
Speed Read President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador said he would not send back the unlawfully deported Kilmar Ábrego García
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump says electronics tariff break won't last
Speed Read The tariff exemptions on smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices are temporary, the administration says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Man charged in arson attack on Pennsylvania's Shapiro
Speed Read Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping when someone set fire to his Harrisburg mansion
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
White House pushes for oversight of Columbia University
Speed Read The Trump administration is considering placing the school under a consent decree
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court backs wrongly deported migrant
Speed Read The Trump administration must 'facilitate' the return of wrongfully deported migrant Kilmar Ábrego García from El Salvador, Supreme Court says
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Two judges bar war-powers deportations
Speed Read The Trump administration was blocked from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport more alleged Venezuelan gang members
By Peter Weber, The Week US