• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
After Being Courted by Trump, African Americans, Latinos Face Economic Blow From Coronavirus

After Being Courted by Trump, African Americans, Latinos Face Economic Blow From Coronavirus

March 25, 2020
State Department Authorizes Middle East Evacuations As Iran Speculation Swirls

State Department Authorizes Middle East Evacuations As Iran Speculation Swirls

June 11, 2025
Maxine Waters Blames Trump For LA Violence She Previously Claimed Wasn’t Even Happening

Maxine Waters Blames Trump For LA Violence She Previously Claimed Wasn’t Even Happening

June 11, 2025
FBI Admits What Its Fmr Director Wouldn’t Say About Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal

FBI Admits What Its Fmr Director Wouldn’t Say About Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal

June 11, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Right Thing To Do’: Thune Goes To Mat For Medicaid Reforms In ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Right Thing To Do’: Thune Goes To Mat For Medicaid Reforms In ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill

June 11, 2025
Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies at 82

Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies at 82

June 11, 2025
REP MICHAEL CLOUD: It’s Time To Get Serious About Ending Washington’s Wasteful Spending

REP MICHAEL CLOUD: It’s Time To Get Serious About Ending Washington’s Wasteful Spending

June 11, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Groups Urge Senate To Finally Confirm Trump’s IRS Chief, Root Out Obama-Era Deep Staters

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Groups Urge Senate To Finally Confirm Trump’s IRS Chief, Root Out Obama-Era Deep Staters

June 11, 2025
Trump Admin Moves To Blow Up Biden’s Assault On America’s Power Grid

Trump Admin Moves To Blow Up Biden’s Assault On America’s Power Grid

June 11, 2025
‘What A Stupid Question’: Karoline Leavitt Clashes With Reporter As She Attempts To Trip Her Up Over Riots

‘What A Stupid Question’: Karoline Leavitt Clashes With Reporter As She Attempts To Trip Her Up Over Riots

June 11, 2025
Take A Look At The Newest List Of Illegals ICE Nabbed In Riot-Plagued Los Angeles

Take A Look At The Newest List Of Illegals ICE Nabbed In Riot-Plagued Los Angeles

June 11, 2025
Justice Department Paves Way To Rein In Federal Land Grabs

Justice Department Paves Way To Rein In Federal Land Grabs

June 11, 2025
Vince Coglianese Grills Rand Paul Over ‘Goose-Stepping’ Comments About Massive DC Army Parade

Vince Coglianese Grills Rand Paul Over ‘Goose-Stepping’ Comments About Massive DC Army Parade

June 11, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

After Being Courted by Trump, African Americans, Latinos Face Economic Blow From Coronavirus

by Reuters
March 25, 2020 at 7:22 am
in News
240 12
0
After Being Courted by Trump, African Americans, Latinos Face Economic Blow From Coronavirus

Patrick Fallon/File Photo/Reuters

491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The financial hardship caused by the coronavirus outbreak could fall particularly hard on African Americans and Latinos, undoing economic gains President Donald Trump has touted in his outreach to those key voting blocs ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

With job cuts hitting U.S. states as governors and companies order offices and workplaces closed, African Americans and Latinos are particularly vulnerable because they more often have jobs that cannot be done at home.

“That will make them more severely impacted by an extended coronavirus shutdown of the economy,” said Jay Shambaugh, a White House economist during Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration.

Labor Department data shows that just 19.7% of African Americans and 16.2% of Hispanics said they could work at home in 2017 and 2018, compared with 29.9% of whites.

The department’s most recent data on unemployment benefits showed a nationwide surge in new filings, with many states reporting layoffs in service industries like hotels and restaurants, according to the department’s March 19 report.

Those are industries where African Americans and Latinos make up outsized shares of employment, including hotels where the two groups make up nearly half of employees.

While African Americans and Hispanics overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump over his immigration policies and handling of race relations, the Trump campaign has increased its outreach to those groups in hopes of picking off enough votes to win potentially razor-thin contests in electoral swing states.

African Americans and Hispanics will comprise about a quarter of eligible voters in November, slightly more than in the 2016 election, according to the Pew Research Center. Their votes could be key in battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida that helped propel the Republican Trump to victory in 2016.

But the health crisis, which has now culminated in a full-blown economic crisis, has cost the campaign its No. 1 talking point – that a soaring economy and record-low unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanics are reasons to vote for him.

Iyanna James, a 27-year-old black woman in College Park, Georgia, was laid off this week from her job at a gardening store after business slowed down because of the outbreak.

She considers herself a moderate Democrat and while disapproving of Trump’s immigration policies before the health crisis, she thought he was doing a good job on the economy.

But she believes he has not done enough to deal with the global pandemic that has upended American life.

“He should have responded more quickly,” said James, who plans to vote Democratic in November.

Trump’s approval rating has edged higher in the past week among all Americans, including African Americans and Hispanics, suggesting it is possible he will earn some credit for his handling of the crisis.

Still, only one in five African Americans and about one in three Latinos approved of the job he is doing as president, roughly the same level as when he took office, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 18-24.

RIGHT LEADER FOR CRISIS?

“Trump is going to make a different argument to those groups than he had planned to make before the coronavirus,” said Alex Conant, a White House spokesman during Republican President George W. Bush’s administration.

“Instead of pointing to record unemployment, he’ll have to point to his handling of the coronavirus and what he’s doing to specifically help those groups recover.”

After initially downplaying the outbreak, Trump has taken more forceful action in recent days, issuing guidance that Americans avoid large gatherings and holding regular briefings on the crisis.

The Trump campaign said the president could make the case to black and Latino voters that he is the right leader for the current crisis.

“The President is uniting Americans through his leadership and voters are responding, Blacks and Latinos included,” campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said in an email.

Juliette Valentino, 29, a Hispanic woman in San Antonio who was once a Democrat but now considers herself a moderate Republican, does not blame Trump for the crisis even though she and her husband were laid off from a pet-care center because of the outbreak.

Saying she would probably vote for Trump in November, Valentino said his administration “has seemed to get a handle on this.”

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Additional reporting by Chris Kahn in New York; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Peter Cooney)

Tags: 2020 Presidential ElectionCoronavirus OutbreakDonald Trump
Share196Tweet123
Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is an international news organization.

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th