Diverse Republican presidential primary field sees an opening in 2024 with voters of color
WJXT
CHICAGO During Donald Trump's first visit as president to Chicago, a frequent target in his attacks on urban violence, he disparaged the nation's third largest city as a haven for criminals and a national embarrassment.
At a recent town hall, Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy sat alongside ex-convicts on the city's South Side and promised to defend Trump's America First agenda. In return, the little-known White House hopeful, a child of Indian immigrants, found a flicker of acceptance in a room full of Black and brown voters.
The audience nodded when Ramaswamy said that anti-Black racism is on the rise, even if they took issue with his promise to eliminate affirmative action and fight woke policies.
America First applies to all Americans not just the few that Republicans talk to, he said.
Race has emerged as a central issue and a delicate one in the 2024 presidential contest as the GOP's primary field so far features four candidates of color, making it among the most racially diverse ever.
