Donald Trump's pitch to African-American voters: 'What the hell do you have to lose?'
Donald Trump is now angling for African American voters, fewer than three months before the November election.
At a rally on Friday in Dimondale, Michigan, the Republican presidential candidate offered himself as the alternative to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, as he tried to appeal to black voters - a demographic with which he has not performed well.
The real-estate mogul's pitch described black communities as having "suffered under Democratic control."
"To those I say the following: what do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump. What do you have to lose?" Trump asked.
The New York businessman continued his plea by painting a bleak picture of the African American experience at large.
"You're living in poverty. Your schools are no good. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to loose?"
Observers on Twitter interpreted Trump's remarks as callous and out of touch.
The GOP nominee has found little success courting nonwhite voters during a campaign that began with him labeling some immigrants from Mexico as "rapists" and drug runners.
Trump found himself in hot water again in February for being slow to denounce the support of former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard, David Duke - an incident that, among others, may still be fresh in the minds of African Americans.
Recent polls pegged Trump's support from black voters in some key battleground states as low as 0%. Despite this, Trump appeared confident his message would resonate.
"In 4 years, I guarantee you, I will get more than 95% of the African American vote."