WATCH: Pundits Blast Trump’s “Outreach” to Minorities As Dishonest, Insulting

Trailing in Polls, GOP Nominee Has Backtracked on Immigration, Courted Black Voters

Although Donald Trump’s new campaign manager says she was “moved” by his pitch to African-Americans, most pundits don’t seem impressed with the GOP presidential nominee’s sudden, recent effort to court black and Hispanic voters. 

Appearing on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday morning, Vox.com’s Ezra Klein blasted Trump’s decision to backtrack on his immigration policy, which we reported Saturday. Trump, who previously said he’d round up and deport all 11 million people in the U.S. illegally, is now indicating that he’s open to some form of legalization. 

“It seems to me to be a strange pivot to make in your messaging, where your argument becomes, ‘If you did not like my position on immigration, the good news is, you also can’t trust me,’” Klein said, adding that the Trump’s campaign’s messaging still appears targeted toward GOP primary voters who already agree with him. “You don’t reach people you don’t agree with by coming out and saying, ‘My message was actually completely confused, and I was lying about my policies.'”  

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Democratic consultant Symone Sanders called Trump’s appeal to black Americans “disingenuous and downright insulting.” As we mentioned this morning, Trump has been telling mostly white crowds that black voters should support him because their current situation is so bad they have nothing to lose. 

“Does Donald Trump think that all black people are poor?” Sanders said. “I really think the Republican Party and the Trump campaign … they have to take a very hard look at what outreach looks like, what their definition of outreach is.” 

GOP consultant Corey Lewandowski (pictured, right) responded that it’s hypocritical for people who’ve attacked Trump for a lack of minority outreach to take issue with the way he’s doing it. But former Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley (pictured, left) said Trump is the real hypocrite. 

“Donald Trump cannot talk about the party of Lincoln,” O’Malley said, referencing one of the nominee’s remarks. “Donald Trump’s immigrant-bashing and racist rhetoric would make Lincoln roll over in his grave. Donald Trump wouldn’t even repudiate the endorsement of Klan leader.”