特朗普总统的改选小组正计划在有色人种社区开设十几个零售商店，为选民提供服务——这些社区受到了冠状病毒随着流行病在全国蔓延。
该小组正寻求恢复其先前宣布的计划，即在亚利桑那州、佛罗里达州、乔治亚州、密歇根州和北卡罗来纳州等战场州开设“社区中心”，这些地方的COVID病例也有显著增加，共有19例。
公共卫生主任、亚利桑那大学医学院副教授Shad Marvasti博士等公共卫生专家告诉ABC新闻，在疫情最严重的时候开放这些中心是不负责任的。
马尔瓦蒂说:“现在不建议进行任何不必要的活动，人们在室内互动，特别是在黑人和棕色人种社区，他们受到了COVID-19的严重影响。”“他们住院和死亡的比率比美国白人高得多。我认为，让人们在近距离环境中进行互动的另一个接触点暴露他们是不负责任的，我们知道这种接触点传播病毒的风险更高。”
2020年1月18日，当唐纳德·特朗普总统的车队从位于西棕榈滩的特朗普国际高尔夫俱乐部返回马拉加时，人们举着“支持特朗普的黑人”的标语聚集在南方大道上
共和党全国委员会和特朗普竞选团队将于今年夏天在全国多个城市为特朗普社区中心开设15个黑人之声，如费城、克里夫兰、格林斯博罗、密尔沃基、夏洛特以及前RNC全国代表大会的主办城市佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔。
RNC负责黑人媒体事务的高级传播顾问帕里斯·丹纳德说，这些中心的计划是根据当地官员的指导来建立。
Dennard说:“这是基于当地市长的指导，什么可以被认为是必要的和不必要的等，但计划是让这些事情在今年夏天开放。”
特朗普竞选团队也在努力弥补，因为冠状病毒疫情不仅严重阻碍了竞选团队的“特朗普黑人之声”零售店计划，还推迟了它们的开业时间。
特朗普的竞选团队在过去一年投入了数百万美元，通过电视和数字广告(包括一个1000万美元的超级碗广告)以及发起多个联盟(包括“特朗普的黑人之声”和“特朗普的拉丁裔”)来接触有色人种选民
2019年10月17日，在德克萨斯州达拉斯美国航空中心举行的“让美国保持伟大”集会上，美国总统的支持者举着写有“拉丁裔支持特朗普”的标语。
这些中心是特朗普竞选团队的工作人员出售商品的地方，比如帽子，上面有“醒来”这个词——这是一个表示种族意识的术语——同时也在努力登记选民，向他们宣传总统的经济记录和刑事司法改革法案。
或许更重要的是，总统对有色人种选民的经济宣传中的一个关键因素已经消失，因为这种流行病导致失业率飙升，对有色人种社区造成了不成比例的伤害。
西班牙裔外展部RNC地区传播主任安德烈斯·马拉夫说，这些中心的目标地点已经在佛罗里达州和该国西南部为拉丁裔支持特朗普联盟确定。
亚利桑那州特朗普获胜战略倡议主任耶利米·科塔(Jeremiah Cota)上周分享了一张照片，展示了一个新的零售空间，在这里，“特朗普的拉丁裔”中心将在亚利桑那州凤凰城开业。“特朗普胜利已经准备好在南凤凰城中心推出首个#LatinosForTrump社区中心!”科塔写道。
特朗普竞选团队计划在亚利桑那州凤凰城开设一个新的零售点，与此同时，该州的冠状病毒疫情显示病例略有减少，但测试也在进行。在过去的一周，亚利桑那州经历了该流行病最致命的两天。
2020年7月23日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿白宫举行的新闻发布会上谈到他的政府对正在进行的冠状病毒大流行的反应。
亚利桑那州州长道格·杜西本月早些时候宣布，亚利桑那州的酒吧、健身房和剧院将再次关闭，大型集会也将受到限制。
根据2019年美国人口普查的估计，亚利桑那州凤凰城是一个人口密集的有色人种社区，42.6%的居民是拉丁美洲人，2.6%是非裔美国人。
在全国范围内，冠状病毒大流行已经不成比例地影响了有色人种社区。
根据疾病控制和预防中心“非西班牙裔黑人、西班牙裔和拉丁裔以及美洲印第安人/阿拉斯加土著人，证据表明COVID-19患者的住院率或死亡率高于非西班牙裔白人。”
广泛的《美国广播公司新闻》、《五·三十八》和美国广播公司所有的电视台评论发现在那些黑人和棕色人种社区进行冠状病毒检测要困难得多。
公共卫生专家一再表示，检测和追踪是控制全国疫情的关键策略。
马拉夫说，中心里的每个人和每个进来的人都将遵循当地和州的指导方针。
“我们遵循所有地方和州的指导方针，以确保我们的现场团队、志愿者以及与我们一起工作并分享我们信息的每个人都能庆祝特朗普总统马拉夫说:“我们的努力是安全的。”
在乔治·弗洛伊德(George Floyd)去世后，该县的种族紧张局势升级，导致全国范围的抗议活动呼吁种族公正，同时在全国民调中落败，总统再次努力争取有色人种选民。
5月下旬，特朗普总统在推特上发布了“抢劫开始，枪击开始，”迈阿密警察局长沃尔特·黑德利(Walter Headley)在谈到1967年民权运动期间隔离城市的暴力犯罪时使用了这个短语。
据《迈阿密先驱报》报道，黑德利说，迈阿密并没有“面临严重的民变和抢劫问题，因为我已经让这个词过滤下来，当抢劫开始，枪击开始。”海德利补充说:“我们不介意被指控警察暴力。”
海德利也因用警察政策打击有色人种社区而闻名，比如拦截和搜身以及他对巡逻犬的使用。
在最近的美国广播公司新闻/华盛顿邮报民意调查中，结果发现特朗普在白人登记选民中的领先优势已经从18个百分点上升到现在的最低4个百分点，而94%的黑人登记选民支持拜登。
在处理国内种族关系方面，拜登领先25个百分点，为58-33%。
本月早些时候，美国广播公司新闻/益普索民意调查发现，92%的美国黑人和83%的西班牙裔不赞成特朗普处理种族关系的方式。
尽管他在民调中处于领先地位，但马拉夫表示，这些联盟和中心可以为特朗普的连任带来好处，以改善他对有色人种社区的外联和宣传。
“因此，我认为这是一个非常好的机会，可以继续在这个社区宣传我们的信息。我们有来自全国各地的特朗普咨询委员会成员，他们都是真正的拉丁裔。”
Trump campaign moving forward with opening centers in communities of color amid pandemic
President Trump’sre-election team is moving forward with plans to open over a dozen retail properties for voter outreach in communities of color—communities that have been disproportionately impacted by thecoronavirusas the pandemic surges around the country.
The team is looking to resume its previously announced plans to open “community centers” across battleground states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina --places where there have also been significant spikes in COVID-19 cases.
Public health experts such as Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of Public Health and associate professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix told ABC News it would be irresponsible to open these centers during the height of the pandemic.
"Right now it's not advisable to have any type of activity that's not necessary, where people are interacting indoors, particularly in communities of black and brown that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Marvasti said. “They are getting hospitalized and dying at much higher rates than white Americans. I think it's irresponsible to expose them by having yet another touch point of people interacting in close settings which we know is higher risk in terms of transmitting the virus."
The Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign will look to open 15 Black Voices for Trump Community Centers this Summer in several cities across the country such as Philadelphia, Cleveland, Greensboro, Milwaukee, Charlotte and the host city for the former RNC National Convention Jacksonville, Florida.
RNC Senior Communications Advisor for Black Media Affairs Paris Dennard said that the plan for these centers is to get them in accordance with guidance from local officials.
“It is based upon local guidance from mayors and what it can be deemed essential and non-essential etc, but the plan is to get those things opened up this summer,” Dennard said.
The Trump campaign is also trying to make up ground since the coronavirus epidemic has since significantly hindered not only the campaign’s “Black Voices for Trump” retail shops plans, delaying their openings.
The Trump campaign has invested millions in efforts to reach voters of color over the last year through both television and digital advertisements, including a $10 million Super Bowl ad, and launching multiple coalitions including “Black Voices for Trump” and “Latinos for Trump.”
The centers are places where the Trump campaign staffers would sell merchandise like hats that have the word “woke”--appropriating a term that signals racial awareness -- on them while also working to register voters while pitching them on the president’s economic record and criminal justice reform bill.
Perhaps more crucially, a key element of the president’s economic pitch to voters of color has evaporated as the pandemic has sent unemployment rates soaring, disproportionately harming communities of color.
RNC Regional Communications Director of Hispanic Outreach Andres Malave said target locations for the centers have been identified all over the state of Florida and the southwestern part of the country for the Latinos for Trump coalition.
Director of Strategic Initiatives for Arizona Trump Victory, Jeremiah Cota shared an image last week showing off a new retail space where a “Latinos for Trump” center is set to open in Phoenix, Arizona. “Trump Victory is ready to launch the first ever #LatinosForTrump community center in the heart of South Phoenix!,” Cota wrote.
The Trump campaign’s plans to open a new retail spot in Phoenix, Arizona comes as the coronavirus pandemic in the state shows cases slightly decreasing but so is testing. Arizona had its two deadliest days of the pandemic this past week.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced earlier this month that Arizona bars, gyms and theaters are to be closed again as well as large gatherings were restricted.
Phoenix, Arizona is a heavily populated community of color with 42.6% of residents Latino and 2.6% African American according to 2019 United States Census estimates.
All across the country the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color.
According to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, “non-Hispanic black persons, Hispanics and Latinos, and American Indians/Alaska Natives, evidence points to higher rates of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 than among non-Hispanic white persons.”
An extensiveABC News, FiveThirtyEight and ABC-owned television stations reviewfound that it was significantly harder to get coronavirus testing in those black and brown communities.
Public health experts have repeatedly said that testing and tracing were key strategies in controlling outbreaks across the country.
Malave said that everyone in the centers and everyone that comes in will be following local and state guidelines.
“We follow all local and state guidelines to ensure our field teams, volunteers, and everyone we are working with and sharing our message with can celebratePresident Trump’s re-election efforts safely," Malave said.
The president’s renewed push to woo voters of color comes amid racial tensions in the county that have boiled over following the death of George Floyd, leading to nation-wide protests calling for racial justice also while being down in national polling.
In late May President Trump tweeted “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a phrase was used by Miami Police Chief Walter Headley using it speaking about violent crime in the segregated city during the civil rights movement in 1967.
Headley said Miami hadn't "faced serious problems with civil uprisings and looting because I've let the word filter down that when the looting starts, the shooting starts," according to the Miami Herald. "We don't mind being accused of police brutality," Headley added.
Headley was also known for cracking down on communities of color with policing policies like stop-and-frisk and his use of patrol dogs.
In a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, the results found that Trump has gone from an 18-point lead among white registered voters to a minimal four points now, while 94% of Black registered voters support Biden.
With regards to handling race relations in the country, Biden leads by 25 points, 58-33%.
Earlier this month, the ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 92% of black Americans and 83% of Hispanics disapprove of Trump’s handling of race relations.
Despite his position in the polls, Malave said that these coalitions and centers can pay dividends for the re-election for Trump to better his outreach and messaging to communities of color.
“So I think it's a really great opportunity right now to continue to drive our message in this community. We have a really solid deck of Latinos for Trump advisory board members from all over the country,” Malave said.
