Trump Supporters Are Trying To Win African-American Support By Giving Away Cash
JakeThomas
President Donald Trump’s supporters are hitting up black communities in swing states’ major urban centers and giving out cash in an attempt to help the president win the African-American vote, according to The Hill.
A Wednesday Politico report indicated that the Urban Revitalization Coalition (URC) — which The Hill described as “a cadre of black Trump supporters who are active in business, political and faith communities” — is organizing the cash giveaways, some as large as $25,000.
The efforts could raise questions over “whether the giveaways constitute charitable donations or whether they could run afoul of private lottery laws,” The Hill noted. URC is classified as a 501(c)3 charitable organization.
"Charities are required to spend their money on charitable and educational activities,” Marcus Owens, former director of the Exempt Organizations Division at the IRS, told Politico. “It's not immediately clear to me how simply giving money away to people at an event is a charitable act.”
A spokesman for the Trump’s reelection campaign told Politico in a statement that the campaign “has no knowledge of or affiliation with these activities.”
The Hill noted that polling as recent as October “found that an overwhelming majority of black voters remain committed to voting for Trump's opponent (any generic Democratic challenger) in 2020.”
