NEW YORK — Donald Trump says he wants to hold a major campaign event at New York’s Madison Square Garden featuring Black hip-hop artists and athletes. Aides speak of Trump making appearances in Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta with leaders of color and realigning American politics by flipping Democratic constituencies.
But five months before the first general election votes are cast, the former president’s campaign has little apparent organization to show for its ambitious plans.
His campaign removed its point person for coalitions and has not announced a replacement. The Republican Party’s minority outreach offices across the country have been shuttered and replaced by businesses that include a check-cashing store, an ice cream shop and a sex-toy store. Campaign officials acknowledge they are weeks away from rolling out any targeted programs.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has struggled to navigate a messy transition into the November election, plagued by staffing issues, personal legal troubles and the “Make America Great Again” movement’s disdain for “ identity politics.” There are signs of frustration on the ground, where Republicans believe Trump has a real opportunity to cut into Democratic President Joe Biden’s advantages with voters of color.
“To be quite honest, the Republican Party does not have a cohesive engagement plan for Black communities,” said Darrell Scott, a Black pastor and longtime Trump ally who co-founded the National Diversity Coalition for Trump in 2016. “What it has are conservatives in communities of color who have taken it upon themselves to head our own initiatives.”
On-the-ground organizing has long been a hallmark of successful presidential campaigns, which typically invest tremendous resources into identifying would-be supporters and ensuring they vote. The task may be even more critical this fall given how few voters are excited about the Biden-Trump rematch.
But in Michigan, a pivotal state that flipped from Trump to Biden four years ago, several party officials confirmed that the Republican National Committee, overhauled by Trump allies after he clinched the nomination in March, has yet to set up any community centers for minority outreach. Office spaces to house the centers have been offered up by community members, but staffing has been an issue, said the Oakland County GOP chair, Vance Patrick.
“We’ve got all these carts but we have no horses yet,” Patrick said. “So, it’s all about making sure we have staffing when we open up these offices.”
In Wayne County, home to Detroit, local Republican officials say they are trying to figure it out on their own.
“It’s me setting up events or people just reaching out to me,” said Rola Makki, the outreach vice chair for the Michigan GOP, noting she hasn’t seen any minority outreach centers open in spite of claims to the contrary by Trump’s national campaign team.
In recent years, the RNC invested big in community centers and minority outreach based on the belief that real relationships with voters, even those who typically do not support Republicans, would make a difference on Election Day. Since taking over the RNC in the spring, however, Trump’s team has dramatically scaled back such efforts.
“Traditionally, Republicans have not been effective in their efforts to persuade Black and Hispanic voters to vote for our party,” said Lynne Patton, a senior adviser on the campaign overseeing coalitions work who has worked closely with the Trump family for decades. “But this is yet another reason why President Trump was adamant that his hand-picked leadership team assume control at the RNC and spearhead a unified effort to embrace the historic defection being witnessed within Black & Hispanic communities from the Democrat party and ensure it’s permanent.”
The campaign hired a national coalitions director last October. But the staffer, Derek Silver, left in March without explanation, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions. Silver did not return multiple requests for comment. No replacement has been announced.
Trump’s advisers reject criticism that they are not doing enough organizing or spending to reach minorities. James Blair, the campaign’s political director, said the campaign would not “broadcast” its spending or staffing levels, “but I assure you, it’s enough to ensure President Trump’s historic surge in support amongst Black and Hispanic voters sticks in November and beyond.”
Patton said Trump’s political team is laying the groundwork for a robust minority outreach program, although largely in private.
“We are speaking with Black leaders, we are speaking with small-business owners, we’re speaking with famous athletes, hip-hop artists, some of whom I think you’d be surprised if you knew who was talking with us right now,” Patton said in an interview. “These are people who are expressing openness to supporting President Trump both publicly and privately.”
