Republicans Vie for Minority Support at RNC

Late Monday, Trump appeared at the Republican National Convention with a bandage on his ear, before a stadium of adoring supporters. However, instead of speaking, he sat down and listened to speeches from voices that differ from the stereotypical white Christian conservative, including a diverse cast of minorities and former Democrats.

The most controversial of the speakers was Amber Rose, an African American self-described “model and entrepreneur” who currently runs an OnlyFans account and organized the “2016 Amber Rose SlutWalk.” Despite her socially liberal stances, Rose opened her speech by saying the best chance to give her kids a better life was to elect Trump as president: “I’m here tonight to tell you, no matter your political background, that the best chance we have to give our babies a better life is to elect Donald Trump as president of the United States.” Her support continued, telling the audience she became a Trump supporter trying to prove he is racist but “realized Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re black, white, gay, or straight. It’s all love.”

After Rose spoke, Linda Fornos, a first-generation Nicaraguan immigrant and mother, told the Republican crowd that she made a mistake, “In 2020, I voted for Joe Biden,” which was followed by boos. She quickly apologized, saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, he has made me regret it,” which was met with cheers and applause.

The last speaker of the night was Harmeet Dhillon, Republican National Committeewoman to the RNC from California. Following a prayer from Messiah Lutheran Church Pastor Rev. James Roemke, Dhillon recited the Sikh “Ardas” prayer, which she said is recited “before any new endeavor, giving thanks to God, and asking for his protection and help. To uphold the values of humility, truth, courage, service, and justice for all.”

Promoting non-traditional voices might be part of the reason Trump is currently doing better in the polls than in 2016 and 2020. For example, he is doing better now among every minority group in the latest Economist poll from 2024, conducted July 7-9, compared to the last Economist poll taken before the 2020 election, conducted Oct. 31-Nov. 2. 

Among African Americans, the 2020 Economist poll found that Biden received 91% of the support, and Trump only 7%. In the latest poll, the Economist found that Trump’s support has jumped to 13% among African Americans, while Biden’s has fallen to 68%, with another 14% undecided. Even if Biden receives most of the votes from those undecided African Americans, Trump’s support among African Americans has jumped 6-10 points.

Among Hispanics, Trump is also faring slightly better. In 2020, Biden received 63% in the Economist poll, but in the latest poll, his support dropped to 48%. Not all this support went to Trump, as he increased only 3 points, from 34% to 37%, but a 15-point drop among Hispanics and a 23-point drop among African Americans accounts for part of the reason polls had Trump ahead by 2.7 points in the RealClearPolitics Polling Average on Tuesday, while he lost the national popular vote by 4.5 points in 2020.