Donald Trump may want to rethink his strategy for targeting certain segments of the voting populace.
During a rally in West Bend, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night Trump tried to appeal to black voters by speaking about the rioting that has occurred in Milwaukee after the police shot and killed a black man named Sylville Smith on Aug. 13.
Here’s the problem: West Bend is part of Washington County. According to 2010 census data, Washington County is approximately 96 percent white and 1 percent black.
“Law and order must be restored for the sake of all, but most especially for the sake of those living in the affected communities,” Trump said to the mostly white crowd, per the Wisconsin State Journal. “The main victims of these riots are law-abiding African-American citizens living in these neighborhoods.
“It’s their job, it’s their homes, it’s their schools and communities which will suffer the most as a result,” he continued, per ABC News. “There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct for anyone. Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and will never be accepted in a Trump administration.”
Tuesday’s rally was also unique in that Wisconsin’s Republican governor Scott Walker was in attendance after previously skipping multiple Trump events in his state. Walker was the second Republican to drop out of the primary process, helping pave the way for Trump’s nomination.
Trump will need all the support he can get no matter the race if he wants to win in Wisconsin come November. According to the most recent Marquette Law School poll, Hillary Clinton currently has a 15-point lead over Trump among likely voters statewide.