FIRST ON FOX — Chicago Southside Republican Party Chairman Devin Jones said abortion is not a major issue that black voters will vote on this election. He added that black voters — especially men — are more interested in financial opportunity and entrepreneurship.
“I think if the Trump campaign focused more strongly on issues that specifically impact the black community, for example, inflation, which has made it harder to afford basic necessities, I think there is a jobs crisis, unemployment crisis, entrepreneurship crisis in the black community,” Jones said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “So if there are representatives who have specific policies that speak to those things and target them to the black community.”
Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is hoping to win more black votes in the close race with Vice President Harris, the Democratic nominee, and has previously said his popularity is growing among black men.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Trump answers a question from a reporter during a campaign event in Howell, Michigan. (Nick Antaya/Getty Images)
During Trump's first term, he adopted several initiatives targeting black voters, including opportunity zones and funding for historically black colleges.
“It’s a very progressive area,” Jones said of Chicago. “A lot of our problems, unemployment, housing shortages, lack of entrepreneurial opportunities, are due to state and local governments that are very restrictive, very taxing, which means less opportunity. So I think if he can talk about how he can partner with us at the federal level to fight local encroachment, that would go a long way in bringing in those who are on the fence and even some black Democrats.”
Jones also said that when he talks to people on the ground, he doesn't usually hear “people talking about abortion in that way,” even though the issue of abortion has been highlighted in recent weeks on both Democratic and Republican platforms.
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Arizonans demonstrate for abortion rights in Phoenix after the state Supreme Court ruled that an 1864 abortion ban is enforceable. (Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“Abortion is an issue because the vast majority of abortions are due to financial problems,” Jones said. “So if you address the lack of economic opportunity and the ability to support families, you will see a decrease in abortions. Personally, I would like to see President Trump and any Republican take a hard line against abortion.”
Trump’s latest — and clearest — comments on Florida’s Fourth Amendment, which would overturn the state’s ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in the state, may help to mitigate some of the criticism he has received from pro-life advocates. After making comments Thursday that seemed to indicate he might support the amendment, Trump told Fox News’ Brian Lynas on Friday afternoon, “I’m going to vote no.”
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Anti-abortion activists protest on Aug. 20 outside a Planned Parenthood mobile van offering free vasectomy and medical abortion services near the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Fox News Digital)
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Florida voters will have the final say on the Fourth Amendment at the ballot box in November.
Emma Colton of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
