Callie Crossley: 'Black Voices For Trump' Attempts To Win Over Voters In Swing States

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

February 28, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

“Black Voices for Trump” offices have begun opening in swing states, in an attempt by the Trump campaign to court African-American voters. Callie Crossley, host of WGBH News’ Under The Radar, joined Boston Public Radio on Friday to speak about this tactic.

"There are abandoned community centers in every community, and [the Trump campaign] has gone and taken them over and equipped them with all kinds of paraphernalia," she said. "[The Trump campaign] has assumed, not incorrectly, that if you bump up [Trump's] percentage just a little bit in some of the key states, then that will put him over in a much more winnable position."

The Trump campaign isn't trying to win over a majority of Black voters, Crossley said, but just enough to close the percentage gap with his Democratic rivals.

"[Trump] doesn't need 98% of Black voters. He needs to bunch up his percentage by a couple of points," she said. "The percentage gap he needs to close isn’t much, so all you need are some disaffected people or some people for financial reasons."