6 Reasons Why Trump is Behind in the Polls: Black Lives Matter  Analyst Weighs In

LOS ANGELES

DECISION 2020 — Racial tension amid the backdrop of a pandemic that has affected disproportionate numbers of Black and Brown people could significantly impact the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

In fact, according to legal, political and race relations analyst Atty. Malik Zulu Shabazz, “The race issue will be the albatross that will sink Trump’s electoral boat.” 

Atty. Shabazz outlines six reasons why he thinks President Trump will lose his bid for re-election: 

  1. Trump gambled and lost on the race issue. Trump’s firmest support has always been among White men without college educations. He still leads in this category, but his support has dropped since 2016, from 73 percent among these voters to 60 percent and sliding. He failed to unequivocally condemn White supremacists, used expletives to describe Black athletes and African countries, attacked the Black Lives Matter movement and assumed office dissing the Central Park Five. He has simply lost ground with his risky racial strategy.  
  1. The economy. Before COVID-19, when the economy was spiking, Trump held an enormous advantage among Americans. Now, Trump and Biden are virtually tied in the polls on the economic confidence question. Bad news for Trump.                                                                                                                             
  1. Trump failed his COVID-19 test. Joe Biden holds a 17-point lead over Donald Trump in trust to handle the coronavirus pandemic in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll with just three weeks remaining until the big day. Also damaging to Trump: 58 percent disapprove of how he’s handled the pandemic. Despite playing superman since his COVID diagnosis and hospital release, Trump is getting smashed on his handling of COVID-19.      
  1. Trump will not be helped despite an unexpected boost from Black voters and the support of his personal cheerleader, rapper Kanye West. Trump has made appeals to Black voters, particularly males. In 2016, 8 percent of Black voters supported Trump. But according to recent polls, 13 percent of Black people say they plan to vote for Trump — a bounce that can be attributed to African-American disillusionment with being rubber stamps for the under-delivering Democratic Party. Additionally, Joe Biden is no Obama. However, Trump will not be able to counter his losses in all other key areas.           
  1. Trump has alienated too many women. A recent IBD poll shows 59 percent of women support Biden compared with 36 percent for Trump, and IBD predicts a solid victory for Biden. IBD touts their poll as "the most accurate presidential poll in America" and was one of only two major polls to predict a Trump victory in 2016. 
  1. America has grown tired of Donald Trump’s antics, the lies, the immaturity, the unprofessionalism, and his bizarre and chaotic leadership. 

“There will be no miraculous comeback for the ego-maniac President of the United States,” Atty. Shabazz says. “For the man who lusted and craved the attention of the top spotlight in the world and who tweeted with no regard for policy or decency, the chickens have come home to roost.”   

Through his work as an attorney, author, activist and organizer, Malik Zulu Shabazz has maintained a frontline position in the fight for justice with cutting-edge lawyering and otherwise exemplary work as a Black professional. Shabazz has established a stellar career with a near-unparalleled record of accomplishments in effective organizing, lecturing and litigating.  

He is currently the National President of Black Lawyers for Justice and Black Rights Matter (www.blackrightsmatter.org) and continues to make great strides in the legal field. Throughout his career as an activist, he has maintained a Civil Rights practice and personal injury practice that serves and gives justice to victims. His successful cases have included The Million Youth March Court battles, Washington D.C. public school and jail abuse cases, consumer racism cases, and now several high-profile Federal Court cases currently fill his calendar. Shabazz has been featured on many major television news broadcasts and in printed news outlets. He is also the author of the long-awaited The Book of Khallid, a biographical account of the notorious Dr. Khallid Abdul Muhammad. 

(Phoebe Emmanuel is with Black Lawyer for Justice.)

-cw