Trump Offers 'New Deal' for Black Americans

Donald Trump's poll numbers among black Americans are abysmal—he's polling at around half the 6% Mitt Romney received in 2012—but he hasn't given up trying. On Wednesday, he offered a "new deal for black America" in a policy-heavy speech delivered to what the Washington Post reports was a largely white audience in North Carolina. The "deal is grounded in three promises: safe communities, great education, and high-paying jobs," Trump said, per the Hill, blaming Democrats for "total violence" in inner cities. He promised to provide incentives for companies to move to "blighted communities," and to allow cities and states to declare such places disaster areas to receive federal funding. In other election coverage:

• Earlier Wednesday, Trump took the morning off from campaigning to attend a ribbon-cutting at his new hotel in Washington, DC, reports Politico. "My theme today is five words: under budget and ahead of schedule," he said. He went on to describe America as a great country where there is "no task or project too great" and "no dream outside of our reach."

• At the DC event, Trump congratulated Newt Gingrich on his "great interview" with Megyn Kelly, in which Gingrich accused Kelly of being "fascinated with sex." Deadline reports that on The Kelly File Wednesday night, Karl Rove told Kelly that Trump had wasted precious time opening the hotel and "complimenting Newt Gingrich on having a food fight with you last night."
• The Wall Street Journal looks at the latest damaging WikiLeaks release on the Clintons. A 2011 memo from then-Bill Clinton aide Douglas Band outlines how his fundraising work on behalf of the Clinton Foundation also led to paid speaking engagements and other business opportunities for the former president.
• The New York Times spoke to Trump supporters at rallies in six states and found that many believe there will be violence, or even a "new Revolutionary War," if Hillary Clinton wins the election. But some still expect a landslide Trump win. "You go through any neighborhood and see how many Trump signs there are and how many Hillary signs there are, and I guarantee you it's not even going to be close," a 44-year-old Florida man says. "The only way they've done it is by rigging the election."
• The AP reports that Clinton, who celebrated her 69th birthday Wednesday, said she was struck that Trump "was paying more attention to his business than to the campaign. That's his choice, but we're going to keep working really hard to reach as many voters as possible."

(Wednesday was a very bad day for Trump's Hollywood star.)