Kanyi Okeke
Instead of offering condolences, Donald Trump looked ahead to Election Day when reacting to news that Chicago Bulls star Dwyane Wade’s cousin had been killed. Nykea Aldridge, a mother of four, was reportedly caught in the crossfire while pushing a baby stroller in Chicago’s South Side on Friday.
“Dwayne [sic] Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!” the GOP nominee tweeted Saturday morning.
The tweet stunned many on Twitter. It was somewhat similar to the “appreciate the congrats” message Trump had posted in June, in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.
Trump has making direct appeals to black voters in recent weeks. Last week, Trump held a rally in the predominantly white suburb of Dimondale, Mich., and asked the African-American community what they had to lose by supporting him.
“You’re living in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed,” Trump said. His stereotype of African-American neighborhoods was widely criticized as offensive.
