As Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt head to Pennsylvania today to spin Donald Trump’s disastrous record that failed Black Americans, DNC Senior Spokesperson Marcus W. Robinson released the following statement: 

“Today, Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt will continue their pathetic attempts to cover for Donald Trump’s broken promises and failed outreach to Black communities. As president, Trump gave handouts to the ultra-wealthy and tried to rip away health care and slash affordable housing programs — all at the expense of working-class Black Americans. Donalds’ and Hunt’s desperate lies might help them pass Trump’s extreme MAGA litmus test, but it won’t make up for his disastrous agenda to put Black Americans last.”

Byron Donalds and Wesley Hunt are bending over backwards to defend Donald Trump’s disastrous record.

The Floridian: “House Republicans are heading to Philadelphia where they’ll attempt to sway Black voters with conservative principles over ‘cognac and cigars.’ As President Joe Biden (D) unleashes his Black Voters for Biden effort, Black Republicans are making the case for President Donald Trump (R). Though black voters still largely support the incumbent, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R) assures that ‘everything is in play.’”

Fox News: “Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, is spearheading an initiative to recruit Black voters, particularly Black men…”

Washington Examiner: “Byron Donalds defends Trump’s comments about black voters” 

NBC News: “Donald Trump took the stage here Friday night, surrounded by some of the nation’s most well-known Black conservatives, with a message: He can secure a historic share of the Black vote for Republicans…

“Trump was on stage with officials including Reps. Wesley Hunt of Texas and Byron Donalds of Florida, as well as Ben Carson, who led the Department of Housing and Urban Development during Trump’s first term in office.”

Reality check: Trump’s tax handouts for the ultra-wealthy, attempts to repeal the ACA, and moves to gut affordable housing programs disproportionately left behind and threatened Black communities.

New York Times: “White Americans Gain the Most From Trump’s Tax Cuts, a Report Finds”

“As a result, the average tax cut going to a white American household is more than double one going to a black or Latino one.

“White Americans earn about 77 percent of total income in the United States, but they are getting nearly 80 percent of the benefits of the individual and business tax cuts generated by the new law, the analysis found. African Americans received about 5 percent of the benefits, despite earning 6 percent of the nation’s income.”

KFF: The number of uninsured Black Americans increased by nearly 300,000 during the first two years of Trump’s administration, which marked the first increase in the Black uninsured rate since 2013.  

New York Times: “The Tax Break for Children, Except the Ones Who Need It Most”

“While Republicans say the increase shows concern for ordinary families, 35 percent of children fail to receive the full $2,000 because their parents earn too little, researchers at Columbia University found. A quarter get a partial sum and 10 percent get nothing. Among those excluded from the full credit are half of Latinos, 53 percent of [B]lacks and 70 percent of children with single mothers…

“By enriching the credit and including the affluent, the Trump expansion itself has brought attention to the poor children it excludes. While the 2017 law made millions of upper-income families eligible for the $2,000 credit (in part to offset the loss of other tax benefits), it gave a boost of just $75 to most full-time workers at the minimum wage.”

The Hill: “Overall, Trump’s budget would cut $8.6 billion from housing programs, a 15 percent reduction. Deeper cuts, to the tune of 43 percent, would hit public housing funds while also eliminating programs such as the National Housing Trust Fund, Home Investment Partnerships, Community Development Block Grant and Choice Neighborhoods.”

Bloomberg: “The Trump administration will introduce a new rule on Monday that may reshape the way the government enforces fair housing law, making it harder for people to bring forward discrimination complaints under the Fair Housing Act.”

Donalds and Hunt can’t change the fact that Trump and Republicans have scrapped minority outreach plans and shuttered community centers across the country.

NOTUS: “As the Biden campaign ramps up its efforts to shore up the Black vote, former President Donald Trump’s appeals to Black voters are still more about rhetoric than action.

“The Republican Party’s minority outreach offices in battleground states have mainly been closed since Trump’s team took over in the spring, and plans for reopening have yet to be announced…

“Trump and his allies have spoken plenty about Black voters but have yet to make heavy investments.”

Associated Press: “Five months before the first general election votes are cast, the former president’s campaign has little apparent organization to show for its ambitious plans. [Trump’s] campaign removed its point person for coalitions and has not announced a replacement. The Republican Party’s minority outreach offices across the country have been shuttered and replaced by businesses that include a check-cashing store, an ice cream shop and a sex-toy store.”

“In Michigan… [the RNC] has yet to set up any community centers for minority outreach.”

“Since taking over the RNC in the spring, however, Trump’s team has dramatically scaled back such [minority outreach] efforts.”

Newsweek: “Republican Outreach Center Shuts Down, Turns into Sex Shop”

The Nevada Independent: “GOP minority outreach centers in Nevada quietly shuttered after 2022 election cycle”

Copper Courier: “Republican outreach offices are still closed”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Shuttered GOP outreach center now home to shop selling sex toys”

San Antonio Current: “Republican National Committee closes minority outreach center in San Antonio”

Connecticut Public Radio: “Will RNC reopen Black, Latino community center in CT? It’s unclear”