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Trump makes pitch to Latino, Black voters

ATLANTA, Ga. — President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled his second policy plan in as many days as he tried to chip away at his Democratic rival’s support among Black and Hispanic voters and in key battleground states.

At a “Black Voices for Trump” event in Atlanta, Georgia, Trump unveiled what his campaign dubbed a “Platinum Plan” laying out his “promise to Black America” if he wins a second term, including a push for economic development and loan money and a pledge to designate Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, is so named because June 19, 1865, is when slaves were freed in Galveston, Texas.

The announcement came during a two-day campaign swing that ticked off a long list of boxes, both geographically and with key constituencies.

He unveiled what aides termed a “vision” for health care in North Carolina, where polls show him and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden effectively tied. He held a rally in Jacksonville, Florida, one of the most hotly contested battleground states. He courted Hispanic voters near Miami and Black voters in Atlanta. And he held another rally Friday night in Newport News, Virginia.

Trump has tried to contrast his jam-packed schedule with Biden, who has made just 12 visits outside of Delaware since his Aug. 11 selection of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate, worrying some Democrats with his low-key approach.

Trump made rare references to the recent killings of Black men and women at the hands of police, which have sparked massive protests across the nation. Trump said the nation grieves for the “senseless” deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, while continuing to lash out at rioters.

“Our hearts break for their families and for all families who have lost a loved one. … But we can never allow mob rule,” he said, denouncing the Black Lives Matter movement. “This is an unusual name for an organization whose ideology and tactics are right now destroying many Black lives,” he said.

Trump’s plan unveiled Friday included a long list of promises, with few details.

“If you vote Republican over the next four years, we will create 3 million new jobs for the Black community, open 500,000 new black-owned businesses, increase access to capital in Black communities by $500 billion,” he said.

The plan also calls for expanding opportunity zones, and designating the Ku Klux Klan and antifa as terrorist organizations.

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