BLM National Organization Says Activist’s Trump Endorsement Was 'Publicity Stunt'
The national Black Lives Matter organization denounced the man claiming to co-found BLM Rhode Island as an “imposter” after he endorsed Donald Trump for president, CNN reports.
“This is a publicity stunt. The right-wing continues to use and amplify fringe Black voices to create an idea of broad support for their corrupt candidates,” Black Lives Matter and a separate group, Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC, said in a joint statement to the news network.
Mark Fisher appeared Tuesday (Nov. 28) on Fox News’ Fox & Friends. Identified on the show as the co-founder of BLM Rhode Island, Fisher endorsed Trump and bashed the Democratic Party for racist policies that harm the Black community.
Fox News reports that Fisher previously said Democrats “don't value” the Black vote during an interview with "The Kim Iversen Show."
Fisher’s endorsement was music to Trump’s ears. In 2020, he called BLM “a symbol of hate” when New York City authorized a Black Lives Matter mural painted on the street across from Trump Towers in the wake of protests over the 2020 police murder of George Floyd. He has also referred to peaceful racial justice protesters as “thugs.”
The Washington Post reports that Trump inaccurately claimed Wednesday (Nov. 29) that he received BLM’s endorsement. Trump posted on social media that he spoke with Fisher and was “very honored to have his and BLM’s support.”
In their statement, BLM and BLM Rhode Island PAC said Trump was “no friend to Black people seeking to live in a just society,” adding that they do not support Trump.
“Anyone can start an organization and add the words Black Lives Matter to it in an attempt to muddy the waters of our movement, as Mark Fisher tried to do,” the statement continued.
Trump’s campaign is trying to exploit a potential Democratic Party vulnerability with Black voters in the 2024 election.
A New York Times and Siena College poll released Nov. 5 suggests that Black voters in crucial swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) are drifting toward Trump. According to the poll, 22 percent of Black voters would back Trump, who won 8 percent of the Black vote in 2020.
