Trump Excoriated for Tweet About Dwyane Wade's Cousin
Donald Trump is getting backlash for a tweet about the fatal shooting of NBA star Dwyane Wade's cousin, in which he proclaimed, "Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!"
Critics immediately pounced on the tweet, which was sent out Saturday morning, a day after 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge was shot on Chicago's South Side while pushing her newborn in a stroller.
"You are disgusting," one person tweeted at Trump.
Others pointed out that the GOP presidential nominee misspelled Wade's first name at the beginning of the tweet, in which he wrote, "Dwayne Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago."
"You can't pretend to care enough to check the spelling of his name before exploiting his cousin's horrific death?" one Twitter user asked.
He later tweeted the same message again, but with Wade's first name spelled correctly.
The Bulls shooting guard did not respond to Trump, but did tweet Saturday afternoon about the violence: "The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!"
A short while later, Trump sent a more somber tweet: "My condolences to Dwyane Wade and his family, on the loss of Nykea Aldridge. They are in my thoughts and prayers."
Trump recently began reaching out directly to black voters following polls that show he has the support of just 8 percent of African-Americans. While black voters historically vote Democrat more often than Republican, Trump's polling numbers on the black vote are particularly low.
This is hardly the first time one of his tweets has prompted controversy, particularly after a tragedy. Following the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando — the deadliest mass shooting ever in modern U.S. history — Trump tweeted: "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!"