Presidential races

Trump on Chicago shooting: ‘Just what I have been saying’

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Donald Trump on Saturday used the shooting death of a famous basketball player’s cousin to brag that he is right about Chicago gun violence. 

“Dwayne Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago,” the GOP presidential nominee tweeted. “Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”  

{mosads}Nykea Aldridge, 32, was caught in crossfire and shot in the head and arm while leaving a school in Chicago on Friday afternoon. 

Aldridge was the cousin of Wade, a star player on the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. Wade spells his first name “Dwyane.”

Social media users raced to criticize Trump for patting himself on the back without expressing condolences about the shooting, as well as for spelling Wade’s name wrong.

About three hours after originally posting the tweet, Trump deleted and tweeted a new version, correctly spelling Wade’s name. The rest of the tweet was identical to the original:

About an hour after the newly updated tweet, and four hours after the original, Trump followed up with a tweet expressing condolences to Aldridge’s family:

Trump has tried to broaden his appeal to minority voters in recent weeks, as his poll numbers show him struggling greatly. 

But his message has been criticized by some as ineffective and inappropriate. 

Trump grabbed headlines last week when, in a direct plea to African-American voters, he asked what they had to lose by voting for him. 

“You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed — what the hell do you have to lose?” the billionaire said at a rally in Michigan. 

Trump has long struggled with minority voters throughout his campaign, with recent polls showing him getting as little as 1 or 2 percent support among black voters.

Trump similarly drew heavy criticism for a self-congratulatory tweet he sent out after the Orlando nightclub shooting.

“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism,” he wrote the morning after 49 were killed in the gun attack. 

—Updated at 2:01 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump

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