“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”, Clinton said, citing Scripture as she took the stage at the National Baptist Convention in Kansas City.
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Clinton’s speech is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.at the Kansas City Convention Center. She covered several topics ranging from race relations, to her own religious beliefs.
“I’m sure some of you are sick and exhausted of politicians who think they can just show up at election time, say a few nice works and then just earn your support”.
“But had I not been”, the senator quipped, “probably one week in the White House would have turned me into one”.
“Those who look at the African-American community and see only poverty crime and desperation are missing so much”, she said, referring to Trump’s recent cynical “what do you have to lose” pitch to black voters.
“We are commanded to love”, she said. “Some days it’s really hard for me”.
“I had the great blessing to be raised by a family in a church that instilled in me a deep and observant Christian faith and practice”, Clinton said, adding that her father, a “former Navy man” could often be seen praying on his knees before bed every night, and that God helped her mother through a “painful childhood”. “Indeed, Jesus made it his greatest commandment”.
She also spoke of a moving encounter she shared with Gwen Carr, whose son Eric Garner was killed in an illegal police chokehold on Staten Island in 2014. Her stubborn refusal to submit to questioning by the press became fodder for critics who said she lacked transparency and that her approach to politics was too cold and calculating.
“No conversation about our national security would be complete unless we acknowledge that the nominee on the other side promises to do things that will make us less safe”, said Mrs. Clinton. “From Arkansas to NY, across this great country, you have welcomed me into your congregations with open arms and open hearts”.
“She’s very, very liberal”.
“She’s the absolute wrong choice for a voter of faith”.
Lauer, the anchor of NBC’s “Today” show, brought up the email scandal in his second question.
“His words, the power of his example, affected me deeply and added to the lessons of my minister to face the world as it is, not as we might want it to be, but to committing ourselves to turning it into what it should be”, Clinton said.
“Why wasn’t it disqualifying, if you want to be commander in chief?”
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“You deserve a sustained commitment to expanding opportunity, equity and justice”, Clinton said, before running through a list of priorities she said she believed had particular pertinence in the African-American community, including ensuring voting rights and taking on the gun lobby. She also said in the three-hour interview with the bureau July 2 that she couldn’t recall having had the required training on handling classified information provided by the State Department.
