Fact Check: McEnany makes false claim about Romney’s share of black vote

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McEnany did not directly address the question, but instead compared Trump’s performance with black voters in the 2016 presidential election to Romney’s performance in 2012, when he was the Republican presidential nominee.

“Mitt Romney can say three words outside on Pennsylvania Avenue, but I would note this: that President Trump won 8% of the black vote. Mitt Romney won 2% of the black vote,” McEnany said.

She then pivoted to attacking Romney’s past controversial comments, including his infamous 2012 campaign comment in which he said “47% of Americans will vote for the president no matter what” and that these people “are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them.” McEnany claimed that Trump took “great offense to those words.”

Facts First: McEnany’s claim about Romney’s share of the black vote is false. And in 2012, Trump defended the Romney “47%” remarks by which McEnany is now claiming Trump is greatly offended.

Trump did win 8% of the black vote in the 2016 presidential election, according to exit polls, but Romney won 6% of black voters, not 2%. Romney was running against the first black president.

Trump also did not take offense to Romney’s 2012 comments, but supported them. In a 2012 appearance on CNN, Trump was asked about Romney’s comments, and said, “I don’t think he should be apologizing for anything,” adding that Romney’s comments needed to be debated in American politics.

“This is something that has to be discussed. And, as you know, there are tremendous numbers of people — whether it’s 47% or close to 50% — that don’t pay taxes and that don’t pay income taxes, and probably lots of other taxes,” Trump said.

Trump, of course, has not released his own tax filings, and it is unclear how much or how little he has paid in income tax. In 2019, The New York Times reported that Trump paid little to no income tax over a 10-year period.

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