Donald Trump rolled out a slew of new endorsements from retired Black athletes and rappers this past weekend — a shrewd play to lean even further into masculinity politics and lure Black male voters to break for him on Election Day. New surrogates include Detroit rapper Trick Trick, 51, and boxing legend Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns, 66, who grew up in the Motor City and whose last professional bout was in 2006. They both joined Trump on stage at his most recent rally in Detroit. In Pennsylvania, Trump revealed he also had pro boxer and former running back Le’Veon Bell behind him. However, the crown jewel of Trump’s latest batch of endorsers is the polarizing retired wide receiver Antonio Brown. “You know, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz … want to put tampons in the boys bathroom,” Brown said at a Trump campaign rally in Latrobe, a city roughly 75 minutes east from where he and Bell became NFL standouts with the Pittsburgh Steelers. “By the way, Tampon Tim Walz, he isn't a real football coach. He could never guard me,” Brown continued, before adding that the country will “achieve greatness” with Trump once again leading it. Brown, whose checkered past includes a sexual assault settlement with an ex-trainer and accusations that he exposed himself at a public pool in Dubai , would be a problematic ally for most presidential candidates. Not Trump though: Brown is exactly the type of surrogate the former president believes will endear him to the slice of the Black electorate who despises Harris’ candidacy. “Giving Black men a voice is a priority of ours, and we’re proud to welcome new faces to the MAGA movement as a big-tent party, ready to deliver real results for everyone,” said Janiyah Thomas, the Trump campaign’s Black media director, in a statement. Both Bell and Brown were reportedly passing out yellow and black "Trump-Vance" towels to fans ahead of the team’s tilt against the New York Jets on Sunday. (Yes, those are the Steelers’ colors.) And Bell has been leaning into misogynistic tropes — again, hyping Trump’s masculinity politics — by rocking a T-shirt that read “Trump or the Tramp.” But the Harris campaign wasn’t going to be caught lacking: It countered with their own endorsements from Steelers legends Jerome “The Bus” Bettis, “Mean” Joe Greene and the family of NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris, who died in 2022. The Trump campaign is doing some actual legwork in cities like Philadelphia. Over the weekend another surrogate, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), visited a barbershop in the city to engage with Black voters. But it seems Democrats are most vexed by the overt masculinity play. Harris supporter and pro wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista recently cut a video for Jimmy Kimmel’s late night program calling Trump weak, a tantrum-throwing child and someone who wears more makeup than Dolly Parton. What did Trump do? He simply posted to his TikTok account a video of him sitting in between WWE legends Kane and The Undertaker. Buckle up, folks. The sprint to Nov. 5 is getting more bizarre by the day.
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