WASHINGTON — As President Trump delivered his State of the Union address on Tuesday, he highlighted several people of color for promotions and giveaways and referred to policies popular with minority voters.

It was an aggressive continuation of a strategy that he and his advisers believe should be a central part of his re-election effort: courting African-Americans, even if the odds look stacked against him and polls show that most black voters believe he is making the country’s racial issues worse.

The administration welcomed five black guests in the first lady’s box this year, days after Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign aired an ad at the Super Bowl featuring Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old African-American woman who was granted clemency last year. Polls show that Mr. Trump has an uphill battle to win over black voters — a Washington Post/Ipsos poll released last month showed that more than 80 percent of black respondents said they believed Mr. Trump was racist — but he still used his annual address to try to gain some ground.

Gesturing to the guests, Mr. Trump highlighted the story of Charles McGee, 100, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, a squad of African-American pilots in World War II. Mr. Trump said he had pinned stars to promote Mr. McGee to brigadier general earlier on Tuesday in the Oval Office.