We can see, now, why Hillary is so worried.
Trump is VERY smart in not insulting these guys but going after their followers for votes.
Economic success does a lot to quell radicalism if those people are willing to put in the work.
He “feels their pain”
And maybe a bunch are waking up to Trump’s “50 years of nothing” message.
Of course Trump still plans on deporting unstable FReepers, so I know I’ll be gone :)
Can’t speak for you!
Hard to believe from Quanell X, but Trump has an opening that most Republican candidates would not have.
I wonder if the media will call Quanell a racist now.
"Thugs" do not represent the average American Black person any more than Klansmen or NAZIs represent White Americans.
At one time (a very long time ago), I might’ve been a follower of Quanell X, or others of a very similar vein. I think it could be an interesting line of attack for Trump. Going all the way back to Malcolm X and maybe further, but continuing through Farrakhan and many others, there is a strain within black politics that is basically focused on community economic empowerment, cultural integrity, intra-racial cooperation, rebuilding black families, etc. There’s actually a lot of overlap with conservatism, certainly they hate white liberals, well they hate all white people, but especially white liberals. In their minds, it’s better to deal with wolves than with wolves in sheep clothing. I’d say that if you added it up, about half of black men and a much lower percentage of black women basically see the world this way.
Up until now there hasn’t been much of a connection between the GOP and this group however. They see mainstream patriotic conservative blacks as “Uncle Toms”, and what GOPer wants to take a chance identifying themselves with people who regularly engage in anti-Semitism, racial hatred, calls to violence, etc.? There’s not much in it for the GOP. Besides, they traditionally don’t vote at all.
But . . . for me at least, and I suspect a lot of others, once you’re off the Democratic plantation, you’re much more open to the GOP/conservative message. Someone like Trump, if he can get past the noise and say look, if you want to empower and rebuild your community, you don’t have to love me, or even like me, but just understand where your self-interest as a community lies, and it’s not with the current rulers of the plantation. Jobs, safety, a growing economy are the foundation of upon which a better future is built, not free goodies for votes.
I suspect if Trump keeps plugging away and hopefully just sits down and listens to a variety of black people, he’ll be able peel off some critical votes in this election. At the very least, he might be able to blunt the “he’s a racist” rhetoric enough such that there’s not a huge turnout against him.
I live in Houston and I am finding that Trump is gaining ground among blacks, even in what is supposed to be Queen Sheila’s district.
The opinion of someone named Quanell X does not matter to me in the least. Just because.
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Add that to the list of things I’d never thought I’d see. Civic nationalism has a broad appeal.