Trump Campaign Forms Group to Reach African-American Voters

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's campaign said Monday it's creating a new coalition to try to bolster his support among African-Americans.

The group is named “Black Voices for Trump” and aims to recruit and engage African-American voters. Vice President Mike Pence will address the group at an event on Friday in Atlanta, according to a senior campaign official.

The official said the campaign is rolling out the coalition in Atlanta because Trump enjoys relatively strong support among black voters in the city.

Trump won about 8% of the black vote in 2016. He's recently held a series of events geared toward attracting more African-American support. Last month, he visited Benedict College, a historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina, to tout legislation he signed overhauling prison sentences. Earlier in October, the White House hosted a group of young black conservatives.

Democrats have sought to capitalize on Trump's polarizing rhetoric on race. During the summer Trump drew criticism for a feud with four Democratic congresswomen who are minorities, calling for them to “go back” where they came from in a tweet. Three of the four were born in the U.S.

Trump is unlikely to ever attract a majority of black voters, who have comprised a major source of support for the Democratic Party since the civil rights movement. But denting the share of the black vote that backs his Democratic challenger in 2020 could help him secure re-election.

A New York Times/Siena College poll on Monday showed that the president trails former Vice President Joe Biden across Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina -- six states that the president narrowly won in 2016.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mario Parker in Washington at mparker22@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, John Harney

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