Making a direct appeal to black voters, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump urged them to abandon the Democratic party with a question, What do you have to lose by trying something new?
Speaking at a rally in Dimondale, Michigan, Trump argued that Democrats, including his rival Hillary Clinton, have taken advantage of African American voters and their votes for granted.
"Tonight, I'm asking for the vote of every single African American citizen in this country who wants to see a better future," the Guardian quoted Trump as saying.
He then presented the crowd with a start question, "What do you have to lose by trying something new, like Trump?"
"You're living in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 per cent of your youth is unemployed, what the hell do you have to lose?," he added.
Trump then made a bold prediction and said that after four years, he would get 95 per cent of the African American vote.
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Latest polls show Trump trailing Clinton significantly among black voters.
Not missing out any opportunity to hit out at the former secretary of state, the New York billionaire once again accused Clinton of bigotry, claiming she sees African Americans only as votes, not as human beings worthy of a better future.
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign on twitter responded, "This is so ignorant it's staggering."
Bashing out at Trump, Clinton campaign's Marlon Marshall said, "Donald Trump asks what the African American community has to lose by voting for him. The answer is everything from a man who questions the citizenship of the first African American President, courts white supremacists, and has been sued for housing discrimination against communities of colour.