Donald Trump Appeals to Black Voters: 'What Do You Have to Lose by Trying Something New?'

— -- Donald Trump made his second appeal this week to African-Americans to vote for him in November's general election.

"If African-American voters give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing," the Republican presidential nominee said during a rally at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"What do you have to lose by trying something new? I will fix it," said Trump, who's been struggling to attract black voters. "This means so much to me, and I will work as hard as I can to bring new opportunity to places in our country which have not known opportunity in a very long time."

And taking direct aim at his Democratic rival, Trump said, "Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party have taken African-American votes totally for granted. Because the votes have been automatically there, there has been no reason for Democrats to produce."

Trump said Democrats have been doing a disservice to African-Americans, a demographic that largely votes for Democratic candidates. "Look at how badly things are going under decades of Democratic leadership," he said. "Look at the schools, look at the 58 percent of young African-Americans not working. It is time for change."

If elected commander in chief, the New York real estate mogul-turned-reality TV star-turned presidential hopeful said, "We are going to work closely with African-American parents and students in the inner cities -- and what a big difference that will make. This means a lot to me, and it is going to be a top priority in a Trump Administration."

At a rally in West Bend, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, Trump also attempted to appeal to African-Americans, when he addressed the violence in Milwaukee following the shooting of a black man by a police officer. "The main victims of these riots are law-abiding African-American citizens living in these neighborhoods," he said. "It's their job, it's their homes, it's their schools and communities which will suffer the most as a result. There is no compassion in tolerating lawless conduct for anyone. Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and will never be accepted in a Trump administration."

Despite Trump's recent overtures to African-Americans, he has declined invitations to speak at the NAACP, Urban League and the recent National Association of Black Journalists/National Association of Hispanic Journalists convention.