Trump is almost right. He âll get â95 percentâ of black voters â voting against him .
President Trump  listens as Isaac Newton Farris Jr.  Martin Luther King Jr.âs nephew  speaks at the White House  Jan. 12. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
In 2016   candidate Donald Trump  declared that if  he  became president  âat the end of four years â when  he  ran for reelection  âI guarantee you that I will get over 95 percent of the African American vote.â
Given  his  performance to date   he âll likely need to add this small corrective: âto vote against me.â
Last week  The Washington Post reported that  Trump  had referred to nations in Africa as âshithole countries â contrasting immigrants from that continent  and from Haiti  with what  he  presumably sees as more desirable immigrants from countries such as Norway. Then on Monday   he  appeared to use Martin Luther King Jr. Day for damage control  lauding Kingâs dream of âa world where people are judged by who they are  not how they look or where they come fromâ in  his  weekly address.
On Tuesday   Trump  patted  himself  on the back  tweeting that recent poll results showed â Trump  approval ratings with Black Americans has doubled.â But as The Postâs Philip Bump explained  thatâs inaccurate. Rather   he  has a 4 percent approval rating among black voters in a new Quinnipiac poll and  according to Gallup  has tumbled from 15 percent approval among black voters a year ago to 6 percent now. Thatâs after being elected with 8 percent of the black vote.
Earlier this month   Trump  disbanded  his  administrationâs dubious voter fraud commission and a day later called for stricter voter identification laws  some of which âtarget African Americans with almost surgical precision â as a federal court concluded in a case from North Carolina.
Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah says if politicians focus on issues important to black women  everyone will benefit  including President Trump's base. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)
When the 2020 campaign rolls around  no doubt  Trump  will recycle all those claims. But where the president really excels is in compelling black voters to turn out to defeat Republican candidates.
So far  the  Trump  presidency has helped drive black support for Democratic candidates in Virginiaâs gubernatorial race and Alabamaâs senatorial race â the two races watched nationally for signs of how the politics of Trumpism is playing â and it was evident that black Americans were motivated to turn out in higher than typical numbers to deliver the president high-profile losses.
 Trump  has been better at generating black support for the Democratic Party than the Republicansâ own candidates or platform. As The Post reported  black voters in Alabama saw GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore as â the local Trump .â  They  voted specifically to keep  him  from winning  not out of enthusiasm for  his  Democratic opponent  Doug Jones. One black Alabamian told the Atlantic that black voters turned out to reject â Trump  and the resurgence of this white conservative overtly racist rhetoric. We can see it. . . . And you donât have any choice but to beat that back.â
But then the  Trump  presidency settled in. By the time summer was in full swing  black Americans felt the shift into familiar  Trump  territory. There was  his  Charlottesville fail   his  national anthem pandering and  his  botched condolence call to Gold Star widow Myeshia Johnson.
African Americans immediately recognized the pattern. Those lamentable episodes recalled Trumpâs haranguing of the âCentral Park Fiveâ and  his  birther claims against the first black president. But now  Trump  was in the White House. Black citizens have dealt with this sort of thing for centuries from all corners of society  but history shows that racial animus in a sitting American president is especially ominous. This is a hard lesson black Americans learned almost immediately after Emancipation when President Andrew Johnsonâs personal racism undermined Reconstruction from the outset  and  with it  hope of realizing racial equality.
In Virginia  Trumpâs endorsement of Republican Ed Gillespie and the candidateâs stance on Confederate monuments ignited black solidarity in opposition. Democrat Ralph Northam won the governorship  and a surge in black voter turnout was a key component of his victory. As Slateâs Jamelle Bouie noted  black Virginians were  strongly anti-Trump  and turned out to vote against  him .
In Alabama   Trump âs endorsement of Moore  an accused child molester  served as a call to action for black voters  in no small part because of comments Moore made in 2011 expressing disdain for the constitutional amendments that abolished slavery  affirmed black Americansâ citizenship and extended the franchise. When Moore fondly reminisced about the slavery era as a time when black families were âunited â that was the last straw. Black voters put Democrat Doug Jones over the top in a tight contest.
When  Trump  boasts about  his  effect on black voters  the instinct is partly right: Black voters certainly respond to  him . But the response is one of indignation  not admiration.  His  first year in office has brought to the surface some of the worst impulses of our nationâs history and behavior. Black voters will be motivated in 2018 and 2020 to cast votes against  him  and  by extension   his  party. And  Trump  will have no one but  himself  to blame.
[TGT] listens as Isaac Newton Farris Jr.  Martin Luther King Jr.âs nephew  speaks at the White House  Jan. 12. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
In 2016    [TGT] declared that if   [TGT]   became president  âat the end of four years â when   [TGT]   ran for reelection  âI guarantee you that I will get over 95 percent of the African American vote.â
Given   [TGT]   performance to date    [TGT]  âll likely need to add this small corrective: âto vote against me.â
Last week  The Washington Post reported that   [TGT] had referred to nations in Africa as âshithole countries â contrasting immigrants from that continent  and from Haiti  with what   [TGT]   presumably sees as more desirable immigrants from countries such as Norway. Then on Monday    [TGT]   appeared to use Martin Luther King Jr. Day for damage control  lauding Kingâs dream of âa world where people are judged by who they are  not how they look or where they come fromâ in   [TGT]   weekly address.
On Tuesday    [TGT]   patted   [TGT]   on the back  tweeting that recent poll results showed â  [TGT]   approval ratings with Black Americans has doubled.â But as The Postâs Philip Bump explained  thatâs inaccurate. Rather   he  has a 4 percent approval rating among black voters in a new Quinnipiac poll and  according to Gallup  has tumbled from 15 percent approval among black voters a year ago to 6 percent now. Thatâs after being elected with 8 percent of the black vote.
Earlier this month    [TGT]   disbanded  his  administrationâs dubious voter fraud commission and a day later called for stricter voter identification laws  some of which âtarget African Americans with almost surgical precision â as a federal court concluded in a case from North Carolina.
Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah says if politicians focus on issues important to black women  everyone will benefit  including  [TGT] 's base. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)
When the 2020 campaign rolls around  no doubt   [TGT] will recycle all those claims. But where  [TGT]  really excels is in compelling black voters to turn out to defeat Republican candidates.
So far  the   [TGT] presidency has helped drive black support for Democratic candidates in Virginiaâs gubernatorial race and Alabamaâs senatorial race â the two races watched nationally for signs of how the politics of Trumpism is playing â and it was evident that black Americans were motivated to turn out in higher than typical numbers to deliver  [TGT]  high-profile losses.
  [TGT] has been better at generating black support for the Democratic Party than the Republicansâ own candidates or platform. As The Post reported  black voters in Alabama saw GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore as â the local  [TGT]  .â  They  voted specifically to keep  him  from winning  not out of enthusiasm for  his  Democratic opponent  Doug Jones. One black Alabamian told the Atlantic that black voters turned out to reject â  [TGT] and the resurgence of this white conservative overtly racist rhetoric. We can see it. . . . And you donât have any choice but to beat that back.â
But then the   [TGT]   presidency settled in. By the time summer was in full swing  black Americans felt the shift into familiar   [TGT] territory. There was   [TGT]   Charlottesville fail    [TGT]   national anthem pandering and   [TGT]   botched condolence call to Gold Star widow Myeshia Johnson.
African Americans immediately recognized the pattern. Those lamentable episodes recalled  [TGT]  haranguing of the âCentral Park Fiveâ and   [TGT]   birther claims against the first black president. But now   [TGT] was in the White House. Black citizens have dealt with this sort of thing for centuries from all corners of society  but history shows that racial animus in a sitting American president is especially ominous. This is a hard lesson black Americans learned almost immediately after Emancipation when President Andrew Johnsonâs personal racism undermined Reconstruction from the outset  and  with it  hope of realizing racial equality.
In Virginia  Trumpâs endorsement of Republican Ed Gillespie and the candidateâs stance on Confederate monuments ignited black solidarity in opposition. Democrat Ralph Northam won the governorship  and a surge in black voter turnout was a key component of his victory. As Slateâs Jamelle Bouie noted  black Virginians were   [TGT] and turned out to vote against   [TGT]  .
In Alabama   Trump âs endorsement of Moore  an accused child molester  served as a call to action for black voters  in no small part because of comments Moore made in 2011 expressing disdain for the constitutional amendments that abolished slavery  affirmed black Americansâ citizenship and extended the franchise. When Moore fondly reminisced about the slavery era as a time when black families were âunited â that was the last straw. Black voters put Democrat Doug Jones over the top in a tight contest.
When   [TGT] boasts about   [TGT]   effect on black voters  the instinct is partly right: Black voters certainly respond to   [TGT]  . But the response is one of indignation  not admiration.   [TGT]   first year in office has brought to the surface some of the worst impulses of our nationâs history and behavior. Black voters will be motivated in 2018 and 2020 to cast votes against   [TGT]   and  by extension    [TGT]   party. And   [TGT] will have no one but   [TGT]   to blame.