WYPR News in Baltimore reports that a “tiny crowd” attended a rally in Baltimore that was the final stop of a weeklong “Black Voters for Trump” bus tour organized by the Black Conservative Federation (BCF).
A navy-colored bus emblazoned with the phrases “I’m not with her” and “Black voters for Trump” received a cheer from the crowd of fewer than a dozen Black Republicans, many of them members of the local Republican Central Committee.
Not sure if this was intentional, but I noticed the WYPR report says that there was a “cheer” — not “cheers” — that rose up. Sad, sad, sad.
The “rally” took place in northeast Baltimore near Morgan State University, the largest of Maryland’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It seems that the event generated jeers from a larger number of people who were passer-bys than the number of people who actually attended the event, as reported by local TV station WBALTV.
"Why would you send Trump people here in our area? It don't make sense for them to send someone out and thinking someone's going to follow you that way," said Leslie Harvey, a resident.
"I'm extremely shocked and angry and appalled, and it's disrespectful to have this here, whatever it is," said resident Tiana Smith. "It's a slap in the face. He clearly said he's not for the Black community or anybody else."
More people continued to show up and voice their anger as the day went on.
The Baltimore event was the last stop in a weeklong bus tour through mostly swing states organized by BCF. (Among BCF’s board members is Rep. Byron Donalds — he of “Jim Crow was good for Black families” fame — so that tells you a lot about the organization right there.) I did some searching on the Internet but could not find any news coverage, or any other type of coverage, for any of the other stops on the bus tour except Philadelphia. The Philly stop on the bus tour seemed to be comprised of Rep. Donalds standing outside a steakhouse and trying to chat with people who happened to pass by:
Clik here to view.
If this is what the Trump campaign’s outreach to Black voters looks like, well, all I can say is bless their hearts. I don’t want to sounds trite because I know that the Harris-Walz campaign needs to work hard for every single vote, including the votes of African Americans in our country. But…c’mon.
