Donald Trump is said to be looking for rappers to help him get more Black voters ahead of this year’s presidential election.
Over the weekend, a news report by The Boston Herald suggested that Trump wants to put on a campaign fundraising event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The 45th president wants rappers and athletes in attendance to encourage more Black and Latin voters to vote for him and the Republican party this November. According to The Source, Trump is also looking to appear in Chicago, Detroit, and Atlanta.
“To be quite honest, the Republican Party does not have a cohesive engagement plan for Black communities,” Darrell Scott told The Boston Herald, a Black pastor and longtime Trump ally who co-founded the National Diversity Coalition for Trump in 2016. “What it has are conservatives in communities of colour who have taken it upon themselves to head our own initiatives.”
Trump is campaigning to serve a second non-consecutive term as president despite currently being on trial for four criminal state charges, including conspiracy to defraud the US and conspiracy against the rights of citizens. The charges pertain to the business titan allegedly paying adult film star Stormy Daniels hush money before the 2016 US federal election.
His first campaign was controversial, especially regarding his “Make America Great Again” slogan and its disdain for so-called “identity politics”. However, his ability to rebuild the United States’ relationship with North Korea and provide USD$1200 (£956.96) stimulus cheques to American citizens throughout the pandemic has won over some people – including many rappers.
Kanye West publicly supported Trump from as early as December 2016. Then, the rapper said he wanted to “discuss multicultural issues” including “bullying, supporting teachers, modernising curriculums, and violence in Chicago”. In 2020, Ye announced that he was going to run for president and wanted the 77-year-old to be his running mate. Trump has since called Ye a “seriously troubled man” and “told him don’t run for office”.
During his second presidential campaign, Trump introduced The Platinum Plan (also known as the Promise to Black America) – his pledge to increase wealth in Black communities. Rappers such as Lil Wayne and Ice Cube endorsed and worked with the administration on developing the plan.
Wayne told fans via a tweet: “Besides what he’s done so far with criminal reform, The Platinum Plan is going to give the community real ownership. He listened to what we had to say today and assured he will and can get it done.”
Just had a great meeting with @realdonaldtrump @potus besides what he’s done so far with criminal reform, the platinum plan is going to give the community real ownership. He listened to what we had to say today and assured he will and can get it done. 🤙🏾 pic.twitter.com/Q9c5k1yMWf
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) October 29, 2020
Lil Pump started endorsing the former POTUS in 2020 after he took the podium at a rally in Michigan to say: “Mr President, I appreciate everything you have done for the country. You brought the troops home and are doing the right thing. MAGA 2020!”
Last year, the 23-year-old continued to show his support for Trump by attending one of his pep rallies in Florida, at which the latter shouted the rapper out.
Snoop Dogg recently shared that he has “love and respect” for the presidential candidate, despite accusing Trump of being a “racist”. “Donald Trump? He ain’t done nothing wrong to me. He has done only great things for me,” the Long Beach native said in an interview with The Sunday Times earlier this year.
Snoop even praised Trump for pardoning Death Row Records co-founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris, who served 30 years behind bars after being charged with attempted murder and drug offences. He added that he had “nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump.”
This year’s presidential election will happen on November 5. Current US President Joe Biden hopes to be re-elected and defeat Trump for a second consecutive time – marking the first presidential rematch since 1956.
In other news, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder said Donald Trump is “desperate to win, just to keep himself out of prison and to avoid bankruptcy.”