Black GOP strategist allegedly booted out of Florida Trump rally

In a speech at a Wisconsin rally this Tuesday, Donald Trump implemented his campaign’s new strategy of reaching out to black voters (nearly zero percent of black voters support Trump in Ohio and Pennsylvania).

But the message didn’t resonate with some black voters who feel they’ve been treated disrespectfully by the campaign.

According to BuzzFeed, several black Republicans are upset about an incident involving Sean P. Jackson, a GOP strategist from Florida. Jackson reportedly told friends that Trump’s chief Florida campaign strategist, Karen Giorno, told him during the Florida primary that Trump didn’t need his “classification of people” to get elected.

Sources told BuzzFeed that at a recent campaign event in Florida, Jackson was approached by Secret Service and escorted out of the event. When Jackson turned to Giorno for support, she acted as if she didn’t know him.

From BuzzFeed:

According to Jackson, he first reached out to Giorno in January. He said the state’s Republican leadership needed to “get on the ball” when it came to trying to reach black voters. Jackson said Giorno got annoyed when Jackson sent an email to her and then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. “I made it clear we had to start sooner than later. You can’t afford to come 100 days before the election and expect to do anything. It just won’t happen. They will look at you like an opportunist.”

“I was just floored,” Jackson said, referring to Giorno’s claim that Trump didn’t need black people to win. “I didn’t know what to say to it. I’m, like, holy shit, she actually said that to me.”

Considering that Jackson worked closely with the Trump campaign and was a “fixture” at the RNC, the incident has black Republicans talking.

“He’s from New York. He must have been to the Apollo at some point and knows that black people will boo your ass off the stage of you don’t come correct. But it’s no excuse. He has to address black America,” one strategist said according to BuzzFeed.

“At some point you have you think he’s going to pick up the traditional playbook and fight for black votes,” a black Republican said.

“Because right now, if he were to win this election based on the white vote it would just be, like, wow. They were right. They didn’t need us. I guess I’d be a registered Independent.”

Featured image via Sean P. Jackson’s Facebook

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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