At the last rally before the 2024 election, the candidate at that time Donald Trump Warnings are that black Americans lose their jobs in the struggle and that things will be worse if he doesn’t return to the White House.
“You should ask them to give you how many black people are out of work,” Trump said. “The African-American population, they were fired from numbers we’ve never seen before.”
But as Trump began taking office since January, the already vulnerable financial situation of black Americans has deteriorated. Disturbed by inflation and affordability issues, black voters humbly moved to Republicans last year, promising that he could boost the economy by stopping transits and challenging tariffs at foreign factories. However, a recent series of economic data shows that the racial wealth gap has widened.
Black unemployment has risen from its highest level so far in 2025 to 7.5%, according to analysis by real estate brokerage firm Redfin. According to analysis by real estate agent Redfin, home ownership for blacks has dropped to its lowest level in 2021. The Census Bureau said that the median income of black households fell 3.3% last year to $56,020, which is more than $36,000 that white households make money, and evidence of bad situations is getting worse.
This poses significant political risks to the president, as well as economic danger to the country, as the loss of jobs for black Americans has historically predicted wider layoffs in other groups.
“Black Americans are usually canaries in coal mines,” said Angela Hanks, a former official with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Labor.
Trump’s White House stressed that some of these downward trends, such as the relative decline in black wealth, led by Democratic President Joe Biden. It stressed that the “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies promoted by the Democrats failed to bring economic benefits.
“Despite a crazy obsession with Dei, Joe Biden’s disastrous economic agenda has reduced the black share of family wealth by nearly 25%,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “His inflation policy has led to higher interest rates, putting Americans out of home ownership, and his open border policies have flooded tens of millions of offenders in the country, driving wages.”
Some black voters stayed off the court in 2024, believing they need to be more politically involved.
Josh Garrett, a 30-year-old salesperson in Florida, said he could not find a candidate he agreed with last year. Trump’s layoffs frustrated him and believed that the administration targeted billionaires more than the middle class.
“I don’t understand how you are about the American people, leaving Americans unemployed when they have families,” Garrett said.
Although the financial outlook for black Americans is deteriorating, the net worth of white households has remained stable or increased to a large extent, largely due to the performance of the stock market.
Hanks noted that the “chaotic impact” of Trump’s tariffs and spending cuts is currently attacking more vulnerable populations, but the damage may spread soon.
Federal layoffs appear to have disproportionately attacked Black Americans because they account for a meaningful share of the government’s workforce. The government insists that its income tax breaks, tariffs and deportations are illegal, which will help black Americans, but so far there is little evidence to show the data.
Meanwhile, Trump said he wanted to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, New Orleans, Baltimore and Memphis, Tennessee — a city led by a black mayor. The president calls for a redraw of the congressional district to support Republicans, which could undermine the ability of black voters to shape elections. He tried to reduce the legacy of slavery and segregation at the Smithsonian Museum.
“The message they sent was very clear: There was nothing these people could do in these places,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. “They couldn’t help with their own problems. There was no doubt that this was partly due to our appearance.”
Democrats warn that the growing economic challenges could lead to future crimes, which reversed progress in cities in recent years to reduce homicide rates.
Black Americans are the main core of the base of democracy, although Trump has raised him with them. According to a broad poll of voters, Trump won 16% of black voters in 2024, doubled his share of 2020. One of the key differences seems to be frustration with inflation and affordability.
In the 2024 presidential election, about one-third of black voters (36%) said the economy and employment were the most important issues facing the country, up from 11% in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was the most important issue.
In a July poll by the Center for Public Affairs Research in July, about half of black adults (52%) said the money they get is a “main” source of stress in their lives right now, slightly higher than that of American adults (43%) (43%), and for white adults (37%) (37%).
In terms of income, some people associated with the conservative movement have shown that black families are more vulnerable because the families of married families tend to have higher incomes.
“The link between family structure and financial stability is quite consistent throughout the whole time,” said Delano Squires, a researcher at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
The direct political reality is that Trump has the task of improving the middle-class economy, including black voters. But now many voters believe that the government’s more focused on deporting immigrants and expanding its powers could threaten the Republican opportunity to seize House and major Senate seats in next year’s election.
“We are in a new era,” said Alexsis Rodgers, political director of Black Futures Labs. “Some people obviously believe in his promise that Trump will do something about the cost of eggs, housing costs. They see the focus on raids on the ice and downsizing the administration.”
