A pollster for Donald Trump's campaign received an on-air check Friday when he tried to brush off the former president's racial attacks at an event for Black journalists.
John McLaughlin faced off against CNN anchor Dana Bash as she grilled Trump's in-house data-cruncher on the contrast between Republicans' inclusivity messaging and remarks at the National Association of Black Journalists broadly condemned as racist.
"The former president talks about it very openly how much he is trying to court black voters, particularly black men," said Bash. "Does your data show that this [Trump's messaging] is a good strategy?"
Trump's messaging Wednesday saw him respond to questions about a dinner with a white Supremacist and descriptions of Black district attorneys as "animals" by calling one interviewer "nasty" and questioning Vice President Kamala Harris' race.
McLaughlin quickly claimed Trump had been ambushed then pivoted to list topics he argued concerned Black voters more.
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"That's story over," McLaughlin said. "The page is turned."
Bash laughed out loud.
"This is what you get paid to do, you get paid to focus on the issues that your data show can move the needle," Bash replied. "But you know that people are not going to unsee and or unhear what the former president said about about [Harris'] race."
Bash returned to her initial question of whether Trump's comments at the event were part of a campaign strategy or a sign that 78-year-old former president was unable to stop himself from lashing out.
"You all have been so bullish about expanding beyond the Republican base," Bash said. "Is there any world in which that is going to help?"
McLaughlin responded with poll numbers he said showed Trump's approval ratings rising among white voters in rural areas then pivoted once again to listing off issues he argued mattered more.
Bash again returned to strategy.
"How does that help?" Bash said. "Not just with African-American voters, but with other voters who look at that and say, 'Well, is this really what we want?'"
