Here's Who Trump Hired To 'Engage' The Black Community

President Donlad Trump has long struggled with capturing support amongst Black Americans and if he is doing the math, Black voter turnout will be the key to him winning or losing in November. 

As a result, Trump has hired some help and recruited former CNN commentator Paris Dennard. 

According to Black Press USA, Paris Dennard is the Republican National Committee’s Senior Communications Advisor of Black Media Affairs. 

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement, “We are thrilled for Paris to officially join our team! A fierce advocate for our President and our Party, he will be a great leading voice as we continue to grow our all-encompassing approach to expand our presence in Black communities.“

She also added, “He will help us connect with voters on the issues they care about and work to re-elect President Trump and secure Republican victories up and down the ballot on November 3rd.”

Related: Sen. Kamala Harris Endorses BET’s #ReclaimYourVote Campaign To End Voter Suppression

Dennard claims he is “pained” by unflattering characterizations President Trump receives, Black Press USA reports. “But it’s a challenge that’s worth fighting for because I believe, at the end of the day, President Trump and the Republican Party want to earn the vote of the Black community.”

That “Black vote” will be diffiuclt to earn, particularly since this Administration has been accused of advocating for voter suppression. 

Dennard is a former George Bush White House Director of Black Outreach. He became a frequent commentator on CNN during Trump’s run for president. In August of 2018, CNN chose not to renew his contract after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced from Arizona State University back in 2014. According to The Washington Post, in one incident he told a recent graduate he wanted to have sex with her and “pretended to unzip his pants in her presence, tried to get her to sit on his lap, and made masturbatory gestures.”

Dennard has denied the accusation and filed a notice of claim (which comes before an official lawsuit) for $9.9 million against the Arizona Board of Regents saying that they released the sexual harrassment investigation report which negatively impacted his career. A criminal complaint with the Attorney General’s Office was also filed since there is a statute in Arizona that prevents the release of public employees’ confidential information. 

Regardless of his past, Dennard has an uphill battle before him, especially when Trump has refused to meet with the NAACP in the past and eight out ten Black Americans polled believe him to be a racist.

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Editor’s Note: Elements of this story have been changed to include corrections about Mr. Dennard’s employment with CNN and the sexual harrasment allegations made against him.