A group of Black women who unapologetically support President Donald Trump said their belief in the Republican platform goes all the way back to Ronald Reagan.
“I read the Republican platform and I read the Democratic platform,” Royal Oak resident Denise Edwards said.
“Being a Republican, I see things getting done,” Detroit resident Robin Barnes said. “I see the promises being kept.”
Local 4 spoke with three Michigan women who are part of a small, but they say growing, collection of Black Americans who passionately support the Republican Party.
“I’ve been a Republican since the ’80s, when I went to college at the University of Michigan,” Barnes said. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
“I attended Howard University and voted for Reagan, and I became born again at Howard," Edwards said.
“I’ve been a lifelong Republican, as well,” Lansing resident Dr. Linda Tarver said. “I think that there’s a perception that Black Republicans somehow have forgotten their roots or have sold out, and I have been accused of that, and that is unfortunate, but my voice is going to be heard with this president. This president has a listening ear.”
They want four more years in the Oval Office for Trump and believe empowering the Black community is and always has been a top priority for the president.
The women said they’re able to separate what some don’t like about Trump’s personality and stick to what they call “the facts.”
“If you go by personality, we won’t like most of anybody,” Edwards said.
“That doesn’t have anything to do with why I have you as my president,” Barnes said. “Your comments, your fun -- I’m looking at policies. I’m looking at what you’re getting implemented. I’m look at what you say you’re going to do next. I’m looking at the process that you’re going to take and how that’s going to affect my community and women in general.”
“I make decisions based on the platform, based on the politics,” Edwards said.
They said they believe Trump has championed a number of policies that have helped revitalize the Black community, including criminal justice reform, school choice legislation and a better economy for Black people.
“Donald Trump has done a yeoman’s job with uplifting our community with respect to educational choice,” Tarver said. “Betsy DeVos, whom I do love, and, I know, you can say whatever you want about her, but my children graduated with scholarships because of school choice.”
“If you know Trump’s history, you know he has given to Blacks,” Edwards said. “He fought with Mar-a-Lago to make sure when he lived in Florida that Jews and Blacks would be allowed to golf there. If you look at his honest history, he does not have a history of racism."
“We don’t have a lot of more times and choices to keep playing the game of, ‘I’ve got to like you,’” Barnes said. “I need you to do what you say you’re going to do so I can live.”
“We have become more politically intelligent as a result of the bravado of this man, Donald Trump,” Tarver said. “He has educated us on America first.”
“That’s what I want four more years of,” Edwards said. “Give us our opportunity zone. Give us economic opportunity and training and allow us to rise or fall on our own.”
Trump is making a campaign stop in Michigan on Thursday night at MBS Airport in Freeland.