“Nobody has done more for the black community than Donald Trump,” the president said in response to a question about race in America during his debate with former Vice President Joe Biden Thursday night.
Trump discussed his work to achieve criminal justice reform. He signed the historic First Step Act into law, through which 90 percent of those whose sentences were reduced are black Americans.
The president also discussed Opportunity Zones, created under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which he championed and signed into law three years ago.
Opportunity Zones encourage economic development and job creation by incentivizing private investments in low income areas.
Trump has also provided support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by setting their funding for a ten-year period, instead of annually.
Black Americans have enjoyed tremendous employment success under Trump.
Prior to the pandemic, under Trump’s presidency, black Americans had the lowest level of unemployment on record.
Trump has also pledged to support school choice, which black Americans embrace enthusiastically. Biden, who is backed by the teachers’ unions, opposes it.
The Manhattan Institute released a survey revealing 66-70 percent of likely voters in five battleground states this election season supports publicly funded K-12 school choice, which Democrat presidential nominee Biden has rejected.
“When we divert public funds to private schools, we undermine the entire public education system,” Biden tweeted in January. “We’ve got to prioritize investing in our public schools, so every kid in America gets a fair shot. That’s why I oppose vouchers.”
During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in August, Trump pointed to the devastating impact of Biden’s opposition to school choice, particularly on children of minority families.
“Biden … vowed to oppose school choice and close down charter schools, ripping away the ladder of opportunity for black and Hispanic children,” the president said, adding that if elected to a second term, he will “expand charter schools and provide school choice to every family in America, and we will always treat our teachers with the tremendous respect they deserve.”