Donald Trump Uses Death of Dwyane Wade’s Cousin to Illustrate His View
By NICK CORASANITI
AUG. 27, 2016
Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter: “Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”
( Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times )
Donald J. Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to comment on the news that a cousin of Dwyane Wade, the N.B.A. star, had been shot and killed in Chicago, linking the death to his effort to win support from African-American voters.
“Dwayne Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago,” Mr. Trump wrote, misspelling Mr. Wade’s given name, which was later corrected. “Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”
Mr. Trump, who initially did not express sympathy for the family of the slain woman, Nykea Aldridge, later in the day posted a Twitter message offering his condolences.
Mr. Trump has been courting African-American voters by painting a dire picture of life in minority communities, one troubled by poverty, violence and dysfunction, especially in “inner cities.”
His case to black voters is that minority communities have suffered because of failed Democratic policies, and that they should support his candidacy.
“What the hell do you have to lose?” he has said frequently over the past week in a rhetorical question aimed at African-Americans.
He has paid particular attention to Chicago, a city plagued by a seemingly endless spate of shootings and gun violence.
Mr. Trump has had a penchant for using tragedies to illustrate his campaign’s message. After the June attack in an Orlando nightclub, Mr. Trump wrote: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!”
His comments regarding the Wade family drew near instant condemnation on social media, though the Wade family had not released a statement in response to Mr. Trump’s message.
A version of this article appears in print on August 28, 2016, on page A15 of the New York edition with the headline
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