Trump Promises to ‘Work on Our Ghettos’

Speaking in Toledo on Thursday, Donald Trump continued to try to appeal to black voters by resorting to stereotypes. “We’re gonna work on our ghettos,” the Republican presidential nominee said, breaking off abruptly before going on to list problems affecting the country’s “inner cities.” “And we’re going to work on our, the ghettos—are in, so, the, you take a look at what’s going on where you have pockets of, areas of land where you have the inner cities, and you have so many things, so many problems,” he said. He singled out violence, bad schools, and unemployment as the main problems facing “ghettos.” “You can’t walk out onto the street. You buy a loaf of bread and you end up getting shot,” he told the crowd. “So we’re going to work very strongly with the African-American community.” Trump has repeatedly been criticized for using out-of-touch language to describe black communities, often implying that all black voters live in violent neighborhoods. His attempt to appeal to black voters appears to be failing, as polls show he has only single-digit support.