Harris needs them, Trump says he loves them, and Obama teaches them.
Black men have come into focus ahead of the US presidential election. Historically, the electorate has voted Democratic, but ahead of this election more are expected to vote Republican. One in four black men under 50 say they support Trump, according to a survey.
With promises of written-off loans for black entrepreneurs, more apprenticeships, legalization of cannabis and more research into genetic diseases that particularly affect people of African descent, Kamala Harris wants to reach the electorate.
Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of Detroit, Michigan is critical of Harris’ “agenda for black men.”
– It is a racist agenda. She believes in the racist idea that all black men smoke weed, and she believes in the racist idea that all black men need benefits, he says in the US agency.
“The Democrats have given us nothing”
Lorenzo Sewell claims to have always been a Republican, but not openly stated it. That changed when Donald Trump visited the pastor’s church earlier this year and he was invited to speak at the Republican convention. Now he wants to get more blacks to discover Trump.
– We have pledged our allegiance to the Democratic Party for over 60 years, and it has given us absolutely nothing. On the contrary. It has given us the highest crime rate, the highest poverty rate, the highest rate of human trafficking, the highest overdoses, he says.
Trump and Obama on the offensive
Both parties have tried to win over the black men before the election.
– My numbers with the blacks, especially black men, I love black men, I love them, Trump recently said during a campaign rally.
And Barack Obama specifically targeted black men during a campaign rally in Pittsburgh and questioned the real reason more people are considering voting for Trump.
– You come up with all sorts of reasons and excuses. Part of me thinks you guys just don’t like the idea of having a woman as president.
The Harris administration has defended the move, but clarified that the “black men’s agenda” will be open to all Americans.
“The vice president gathered the ideas after hearing powerful stories from black men about the biggest obstacles that still make it too difficult for them to get their businesses off the ground,” it says in a statement.
Watch Pastor Lorenzo Sewell’s critique in the clip above. See the USA agency: I love black men on SVT Play at 15.30.