From Project 2025 to ‘high as hell’ rent: Black voters back away from Biden and Trump

On Tuesday, the second day of the Republican National Convention, a slew of Black Republicans convened at the Iron Horse for a gathering they called the “New Mavericks.”

Black Republicans have always occupied a peculiar space in their party going back to when the GOP was founded as an anti-slavery party. Many Black Americans feel that Republicans’ “tough on crime” politics focus on unjustly profiling and prosecuting people of color. Similarly, few have forgotten Donald Trump saying, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” among other unsavory statements about Black protesters and majority-Black cities.

But during the gathering at the Iron Horse, Black Republicans talked amongst themselves about how many Black Republicans have been elected. The night before, numerous Black Republicans — ranging from North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to Representative Byron Donalds of Florida to Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina — spoke to the crowd, a sign that the GOP is taking its Black voter outreach seriously.

“This is the move that we’re making to all voters in our country,” Donalds told The Independent. Ever since he launched a longshot bid to become speaker last year, Donalds has become somewhat of a conservative celebrity, willing to joust with Black Democrats and go on MSNBC to directly challenge liberal pundits.

“When we say we're trying to get everybody, we're trying to get everybody,” he added.

The second night of the convention, Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman-turned-presidential candidate, tried making a direct appeal to Black voters. He said Republicans just wanted Black voters to have “safe neighborhoods, clean streets, good jobs, a better life for your children and a justice system that treats