BBC Radio 4 – Donald Trump and Black America

Black voters could play a decisive role in the US presidential election in November, with more and more people choosing to support Donald Trump.

In the 1980s, Donald Trump emerged as an icon for black America. The brash playboy billionaire symbolized the wealth and power that many African Americans could only dream of, and over the decades his name became a lyrical motif in hundreds of rap songs by emcees who wanted to be just like him.

But that relationship soured quickly after Trump entered the White House in 2017, in no small part because of what many saw as an insensitive response to the death of George Floyd and his dismissal of the Black Lives Matter movement. The rap stars who once praised him now publicly detested him. It was a major setback.

But slowly, Donald Trump has restored his affinity among black Americans, especially black men.

BBC North America correspondent Nomia Iqbal meets a number of black supporters of Donald Trump, including Ron J Spike, who describes himself as a conservative hip-hop artist and is part of Project 21, which promotes the views of right-wing African Americans.

She hears why more and more black voters are turning away from the Democratic Party and toward Republicans, and explains how their support in key swing states could be decisive in whether Trump returns to the White House.

Presenter: Nomia Iqbal
Producer: Beth McLeod
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman
Sound Engineer: Sarah Hockley
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Music includes:

Chains Off Me by Ron J Spike
2024 by Loza Alexander

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