Donald Trump to Black Voters: “What the Hell Do You Have to Lose?”

Donald Trump quickly caught fire over a pitch he made to black voters on Friday.

During a wide-ranging, 45-minute speech at a rally in Dimondale, Mich., the Republican presidential nominee “guaranteed” that, if elected, he would win 95 percent of the African-American vote at the end of four years in office.

“No group in America has been more harmed by Hillary Clinton’s policies than African-Americans,” he began. “Tonight, I’m asking for the vote of every single African-American citizen in this country who wants to see a better future.”

He then spoke directly to black communities.

“Look how much African-American communities are suffering under Democratic control,” he said. “To those I say the following: What do you have to lose by trying something new, like Trump? You’re living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?”

He continued, “I will produce for the African-Americans. And the Democrats will not produce. All they’ve done is taken advantage of your vote. If you keep voting for the same people, you will keep getting exactly the same result.”

The “95 percent” remark was an ad-libbed moment during an otherwise scripted speech that Trump delivered via teleprompters, Politico reported.

Polls show Trump trailing Clinton among black voters, and Friday saw Trump acting under new campaign leadership after a series of shake-ups.

Also on Friday, Trump toured flood-damaged Louisiana, despite the state governor’s asking he not visit for a “photo op.”

The GOP nominee announced that he’d accepted campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s resignation earlier in the day, amid revelations of Manafort’s alleged involvement with a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.

Manafort previously had taken over for Corey Lewandowski, now a CNN contributor. Trump appointed Kellyanne Conway as his new campaign manager and Breitbart News chairman Stephen Bannon as CEO of his campaign.

Hillary Clinton was quick to respond to Trump’s comments in Michigan, saying, “This is so ignorant it’s staggering.”

This is so ignorant it’s staggering. https://t.co/t2fZl9sqKs

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 19, 2016

Many on social media also reacted to his words.

What a gross generalization. Why does @realDonaldTrump assume all blacks are unemployed and in poverty? https://t.co/aqeTzW1DR9

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 19, 2016

Trump does know that most black people aren’t in poverty… Right?

— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) August 19, 2016