Forbes pulled an article suggesting Black voters might relate to Donald Trump and feel more likely to vote for him after the assassination attempt ... probably for good reason.

The piece was titled "Will Surviving Gunfire Be Donald Trump's Next Appeal To Black Voters?" -- and it was written by USC professor and DEI expert Shaun Harper ... who himself is Black, and was more so posing this premise as a hypothetical rather than a statement of fact.

Still ... his argument that Trump may try to use this moment -- which he hasn't yet -- as a way to appeal to Black voters was met with a lot of pushback ... with many calling it racist.

He wrote this in the since-deleted article, taking a would-be position by DT ... "'And the Blacks, they love me because they know the terrifying sound of gunshots,' isn’t that something Trump has ‘actually’ said. Hopefully, he doesn't. But it isn't all that unthinkable."

Harper also suggested Trump could spin pumping his fist in the air after being hit by the bullet as a "Black Power Salute" -- referencing the iconic moment from the 1968 Olympics and the recent George Floyd marches.

Other points mentioned in the article included Trump’s past comments about the Black population embracing his mug shot. Essentially, Harper is saying DT might use this moment to pander to the Black community, and he even suggests it might work ... that's the issue.

As we noted, many say Harper's insinuation that Black people would naturally relate to Trump being shot plays into stereotypes ... and it seems Forbes ended up ultimately agreeing.

Important to note, Harper makes it clear he hopes none of what he suggested actually happens and thinks it's unlikely Black voters will see Trump as one of them.

Regardless of his intention ... his whole theory wasn't well-received in the Twitter-verse.