A Democratic representative from New York said Monday night that Donald Trump hasn’t made any genuine effort to reach out to the black community and has instead pushed harmful stereotypes about black voters as criminals.
Speaking with reporters on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s campaign after the first presidential debate, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said Trump’s recent affinity for stop and frisk, a policing policy that was struck down by a federal court judge in 2013, is “un-American.”
“Donald Trump has never reached out to the African-American community,” Meeks told TPM. “Donald Trump is really reaching out to some elements of individuals who are supporting his campaign who believe in the stereotype that Donald Trump continues to put forth.”
Asked in a follow-up question about the stereotype of black Americans that Trump is pushing with his campaign, Meeks responded: “That all African-Americans are violent, are felons, are criminals, similar to what he said about Mexicans. That there is nothing good happening in community, and that is clearly not right.”
Meeks also told reporters that Trump’s record – a Justice Department investigation into allegations of racial bias in Trump rentals, his role as the “father of the birther movement,” and a lone campaign visit to a black church – “has been an insult to the African-American community.”