Donald Trump Cites Questionable Poll To Boast About 40% Approval Rating Among African-Americans

On Sunday, President Donald Trump cited dubious polling data to brag about his support among African-Americans just two days before the midterm elections.

“New Fox poll shows a ‘40% Approval Rating by African Americans for President Trump, a record for Republicans,” Trump tweeted. “Thank you, a great honor!”

New Fox Poll shows a “40% Approval Rating by African Americans for President Trump, a record for Republicans.” Thank you, a great honor!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 4, 2018

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According to Politico, the president’s tweet seems to refer not to an actual poll from Fox News, but rather to a recent survey from Rasmussen Reports that Fox News showed on Sunday morning. That poll, which has been updated daily since Oct. 29, concluded that 40 percent of black participants approved of Trump’s record as president thus far. A Fox News survey from Oct. 17 determined that 29 percent of nonwhite registered voters see the president’s job performance favorably.

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Trump often cites questionable Rasmussen polls that appear to skew in his favor, as it is known for holding a heavy pro-Republican bias. During the 2016 election, he received 8 percent of the black vote. Meanwhile, around 88 percent of African-Americans voted for Hillary Clinton.

Since before he became president, Trump has been accused by many prominent liberals and even some conservatives for his racism toward many minorities, including black Americans.

In August 2016, Trump famously asked black voters at a rally about electing him: “What the hell do you have to lose?” after he cited the nature of many impoverished “inner cities” filled with African-Americans and black unemployment statistics.

Some of Trump’s allies, like Florida’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis, have used similarly racist language in recent weeks leading up to the midterms. DeSantis famously told his supporters earlier in the race that they shouldn’t “monkey this up” by electing his Democratic opponent for governor, Tallahassee’s black Mayor Andrew Gillum. 

United States Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue also received backlash on Saturday after he said at a rally that the race between DeSantis and Gillum in Florida is “cotton-pickin’ important.”