Lawrence Jones went on Fox & Friends and discussed strategies Donald Trump could use to win the Black vote.
What We Know:
- Jones is a Fox News Contributor and was a former Obama supporter during his 2008 campaign. Since then, he has switched to Republican. Jones is also the editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, a website that focuses on news related to college.
- Jones was a guest on the Fox & Friends segment called “Road to 2020” on Monday, May 13th. During this segment, he focused on talking about ways Trump can reach out to and win over Black voters. He feels that Trump should show more of his business side to reach the voters. “I don’t think the black community wants the president, the politician, I think more black folks want Donald Trump the businessman, I think that’s the person they admire.”
- Prior to his presidency, Trump was name dropped in various hip hop and rap songs. Black artists aspired to be wealthy like he was. Rappers like Lil Wayne, Big Sean, A Tribe Called Quest, and Jay Z have all made positive references about Trump in their songs in the past. This all changed once Trump became a 2016 presidential candidate. According to Jones, “I think once the President got elected he went more into the typical Republican.”
- Jones believes that Trump needs to have a conversation with Black icons about financial literacy to gain back the respect of Black voters. Some of the celebrities he suggest are Ice Cube, Jay Z, and T.I. ” Donald Trump has a great opportunity he’s been around black folks a long time when it comes to the people that we consider culture icons and I think that its time for the president to have a conversation.”
- Jones even goes as far to say “If Nipsey were still alive, I would say ‘President, talk to Nipsey,’ because he’s the one that talks about financial literacy.” Nipsey Hussle, who was killed March 2019, was an advocate for supporting his community and educating people in the black community about financial freedom. Nipsey was featured on a song by rapper YG called Fuck Donald Trump.
- It is doubtful that rappers will be willing to sit down and have a conversation with Trump. Many have shown their opposition to the president in light of his racist actions. Many rappers are also against Fox after news host, Laura Ingraham, laughed about Nipsey’s death on the air.
Jones is confident that if Trump follows this strategy to reach out to black voters, his chances will look better for the 2020 presidential race.
