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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: E24 0619 JUNETEENTH
HEADLINE: Biden, Trump campaign for Black votes around Juneteenth holiday
TEASER: Polling shows some Black voters shifting to Trump
PUBLISHED AT: 06/18/2024 at 12:45PM
BYLINE: Scott Stearns
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Denver
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Bush
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, sv
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, Reuters
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:34
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) June 19th is the U.S. holiday known as Juneteenth, which marks the day in 1865 when slavery ended in the former Confederate states of the American Civil War. In this U.S. presidential campaign, candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both reaching out to Black voters around Juneteenth. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns has our story.
((NARRATOR))
President Joe Biden hosted an early Juneteenth concert at the White House.
((President Joe Biden))
“Our history is not just about the past, it's about our present and our future. It's whether that future is the future for all of us, not just to some of us.”
((NARRATOR))
Biden said his political opponents are trying to “rewrite history.”
((President Joe Biden))
"There are old ghosts in new garments trying to take us back. Well, there are, taking away your freedoms, making it harder for Black people to vote or have your vote counted. Closing doors of opportunity. Attacking the values of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
((NAT SOUND, "Trump"))
((NARRATOR))
Donald Trump’s campaign launched a "Black Americans for Trump" coalition Saturday with the former president reaching out to Black voters at a Michigan church.
((Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Candidate))
"It's a very important area for us. We've done more for, and I say this, I say proudly, more for the Black population than any president since Abraham Lincoln. That's a big statement."
((NARRATOR))
He said Black voters are losing jobs to what he called “millions of illegal aliens.”
((Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Candidate))
“Every state is a border state. You've heard that. But they're coming into your community and they're taking your job. They're affecting the African Americans, and then after that, Hispanic Americans more than any other group."
((NARRATOR))
Trump said Black communities are hurt by worsening crime under Biden.
((Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Candidate))
"The crime is most rampant right here and in African American communities, and more people see me, and they say, sir, we want protection. We want police to protect us. We don't want to get robbed and mugged and beat up, or killed because we want to walk across the street to buy a loaf of bread."
((NARRATOR))
FBI data shows violent crime in the United States is down across the country in both large cities and small.
((NAT POP, "Four more years...))
((NARRATOR))
Biden says Black voters got him elected four years ago, and he needs their help again.
((President Joe Biden))
"Because Black Americans voted, Kamala and I are president and vice president of the United States, because of you. That's not hyperbole. Because you voted, Donald Trump is a defeated former president. And with your vote, with your vote in 2024, we're going to make Donald Trump a loser again."
((NARRATOR))
Four years ago, just eight percent of Black voters chose Trump.
Pew Research polling in this campaign shows 18 percent of Black voters backing Trump, a jump that could make a difference in close races in swing states including Michigan.
((Scott Stearns, VOA News))
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