Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Thursday predicted a huge increase in black support for President Donald Trump in 2020.
“President Trump will see a 50% increase in his African-American support. It will go from 8% in 2016 to a minimum of 12% in 2020. He may even get to 15% of the African-American vote,” Scott said on the Fox News program “Your World with Neil Cavuto.”
When asked why he thinks the president is attracting so many more black voters than previous years, Scott says Trump is speaking directly to the needs of black voters and providing long-term solutions, not temporary handouts. (RELATED: House Democratic Whip Disputes Black Employment Numbers, Says It Was Lowest During Slavery)
“[President Trump] had an Executive Order to increase affordability of home ownership and African-American home ownership since he took office is up about 2%,” said Scott.
He also stated that black voters will remember that Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg was the mayor of New York City who initiated the “stop-and-frisk” policy that amounted to “harassing African-American males.”
“Compare that against President Trump’s criminal justice reform packages that are making the justice system more fair for African-Americans,” the senator said. He added that the Trump administration has created “seven million more jobs during this administration, [with] more than half of those jobs going to African-Americans and Hispanics. The wealth gap closes as the home ownership goes up.”
Trump frequently cites data indicating that black Americans are experiencing historically low levels of unemployment. Improved economic conditions may account for or partially contribute to the results of a Gallup poll released at the end of January that indicated a 14% increase in Americans who are “satisfied” with race relations. (RELATED: Reuters Poll: Black Male Approval Of Trump Doubles In One Week)
“President Trump is not just talking a good game, he is walking a good game,” Scottt claimed.
He continued:
Think about this: President Trump got permanent funding for HBCUs [Historic Black Colleges and Universities] for the first time in the country’s history. This president, President Trump, is not simply talking about going after every single vote in America, he is actually doing the work to get every community in this nation focused not on what the Democrats promised, because their track record is abysmal.
President Donald Trump hugs rapper Kanye West during a meeting in the Oval office of the White House on Oct. 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Oliver Contreras – Pool/Getty Images)
CNN political analyst Van Jones has also cited Trump’s interest in the HBCUs as one reason Democrats need to “wake up” to the increasing attraction that the president has for black voters.
The senator noted that the jobs being added to the national economy are not just low-paying or minimum wage employment.
“Trust me, the wages at the bottom of the food chain are rising faster than the wages at the top of the food chain, because we have full employment in our economy right now.”
Scott said because “wages are up” along with increased employment opportunities, the effect is to build stronger black families and communities.
“That means that we are now attracting the long-term employees who are coming back to work,” Scott said.
WATCH:
House Majority Whip James Clyburn disputed statistics indicating historic lows for black unemployment Tuesday, saying blacks were “fully employed during slavery.”