President Donald Trump highlighted his support from Black voters in the 2024 presidential election as he was joined this week at a White House reception by golfing great Tiger Woods to honor Black History Month.
In addition to touting his success in winning back the White House, Trump courted controversy by joking about running for a potential third term, a comment that was met with chants of “Four more years!”
Addressing the crowd at the White House, Trump thanked his supporters, claiming he had gained the support from “almost” 40 percent of all Black voters in the presidential race.
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The Claim
During a speech at the White House on February 20, 2025, Donald Trump said: “I’m proud to say that we, we received, listen to this, more votes from Black Americans than any Republican president ever.
“Almost, almost 40 percent of the vote.”
The Facts
Trump’s claim that “almost 40 percent” of Black Americans who voted did so for him is not supported by polling and research data. No Republican candidate has achieved that level of support among Black voters since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956.
Polling by the Associated Press’, AP VoteCast, which surveyed 120,000 voters nationwide, showed that 16 percent of Black voters picked Trump in 2024. It did represent the largest share of votes from Black for a Republican presidential hopeful since Gerald Ford in 1976.
Other data from the Public Religion Research Institute, CNN Exit polls, and Navigator, provide similar results.
Trump made particular gains among certain groups of Black voters; AP VoteCast’s results show that he was backed by 25 percent of Black men. AP also reported that he roughly doubled his support from 2020 in Black men under the age of 45, with around 3 in 10 voting for him.
However, no data across multiple sources back his claim that 40 percent of all Black voters backed him.
Newsweek has contacted a White House media representative via email for comment.
His other claim, that he received more votes from Black Americans than any Republican president ever is also misleading. Eisenhower won more than 39 percent of Black voters who took part in the 1956 election, as reported by PolitiFact.
Following the 2024 vote, a number of headlines noted that Trump had performed better than any Republican candidate among Black voters since Gerald Ford in 1976, which is accurate, based on data compiled by Forbes.
The Ruling
False.
Research and exit poll data from the 2024 elections show 16-17 percent of Black voters picked Trump for president. While Trump increased his overall share compared to 2020, it did not reach near 40 percent.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team
