A man who says he was a founding member of the Black Panther explained why he supported former President Donald Trump for president in an interview posted Monday afternoon to TikTok.
The man in the video said he was David Hilliard, who served as the Chief of Staff of the Black Panther Party. He referred to Trump as a “friend to African Americans” and a “decent man” who financially supported his organization. He said he knew the former president as a college student during the time he allegedly supported the organization in the 1960s, where he reportedly “owned all of Harlem.”
“Trump’s a friend of African Americans, and I knew Trump from the 1960s in New York, where he comes from and he’s a friend to African Americans. He’s a decent man … I mean he’s not a racist,” the man said. “He’s not a racist, fascist, white man. He supported black people.”
@carol.mitchell27 #davidhilliard #blackpanthers #donaldtrump #trump2024 #patriots #breakingnews #specialreport #fyp #votetrump ♬ original sound – Carol D. Mitchell
The man who said he was Hilliard alleged that Trump has been convicted of felony charges because of his said friendliness towards the black community. The jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep affair allegations undisclosed ahead of the 2016 election, making him a convicted felon months before the 2024 election.
“Because Trump likes Africans in America. He likes black folks. That’s one. I think that Trump is qualified and a very decent approach to having somebody representing America. Trump is a very decent man … He’s always been a friend of black people, that’s where I know him from,” Hilliard continued. (RELATED: ‘Stay On The Rollercoaster’: CNN Host Confronts Dem Senator On Biden ‘Going Wrong’ With Black Voters)
Trump’s campaign has reached out to the black community following his conviction to resonate with the alleged unfair treatment of himself and African Americans by the justice system, according to Axios. Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a former primary candidate, reportedly told CNN black Americans are veering their support toward Trump for “jobs and justice.”
“The reason we’re seeing so many African Americans come into the Trump campaign — two big things: jobs and justice,” Scott said, according to Axios. “As an African American born and raised in the Deep South who had concerns about our justice system as it relates to race, I’m now seeing it play out from a partisan perspective.”
Black support toward President Joe Biden has fallen to a record low since the Civil Rights era, with Biden currently leading former president 70% to 18% among black voters, according to a New York Times/Sienna College poll from late May. The incumbent garnered 92% of the black vote in 2020.
Biden is only leading Trump 47% to 42% among Hispanic voters, according to the NYT/Sienna poll.
