Mark Fisher, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in Rhode Island, has caused a political stir with a surprising announcement ahead of the 2024 presidential election. After years of identifying as a staunch Democrat, Fisher says he’s had enough, voicing frustrations that have led him to support the Republican Party and Donald Trump.
Reflecting on his shift in political allegiance, Fisher shared his frustrations with the current state of the Democratic Party and its approach to addressing issues within Black communities. In particular, he revealed his strong disapproval of Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he criticized as being more focused on personal political gain than genuine reform.
“Kamala Harris will use anything to her advantage,” he told The New York Post. “I definitely will not be supporting Kamala Harris. If she ever got anywhere close to power, it would be a disaster for this country. Historically, the Democratic Party has been the party Black people overwhelmingly vote for.”
Fisher’s change of heart, he explained, is deeply rooted in what he sees as a lack of tangible results from decades of Black loyalty to the Democratic Party. “We haven’t gotten anything in return,” he said, adding, “So to me, that’s the definition of insanity.”
“I’ve been a lifelong Democrat. I voted for Biden in 2020, which I do regret now. I come from a family of Democrats. I just felt like after 60 years, our ghetto still shouldn’t look like a bomb was dropped and the education system and school systems should not still be horribly failing,” Fisher said.
In his view, the persistent issues of crime and poverty within many Black communities are symptoms of a system that has failed its people. “For so long, we’ve just been blindly loyal to the Democratic Party for no reason,” he explained. “They have given us no reason to have such loyalty and to maintain such loyalty to them.”
In contrast, Fisher alluded to policies under Trump that he believes were more effective in addressing these systemic issues. He cited Trump’s Opportunity Zones, which provided tax incentives to encourage investment in economically distressed communities, as a major example of policies that positively impacted the Black community.
“Many people were doing a lot better under Donald Trump,” Fisher noted. “He implemented opportunity zones for the Black community where it was tax incentive-based and it was incentivized investments into the Black neighborhoods, which is what we needed to revitalize our dying economy.”
Fisher is urging those who feel their voices are unheard to consider conservative policies, even if they have traditionally leaned Democratic. “Whoever feels like they’re not being heard and is interested in conservative policies and conservative politics can look at Donald Trump,” he said, “and how could you not want to follow someone like that?”
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