Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made a previously unannounced trip to Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday where he took a very brief tour of a water treatment plant and was later chastised by a local pastor for bringing politics into her pulpit.
Advertisement
Race has been a critical fault line in the presidential race, with Trump stuck in the single digits among black voters, who are turned off by his racially-charged rhetoric, his support from white nationalists and his questioning whether President Barack Obama is a natural-born United States citizen. “She was so nervous, she was shaking”. I said, wow, this is kind of unusual. “So she had that in mind, there’s no question”. CNN has not been able to review the Facebook post in question. Doocy asked if he thought “they were out to sabotage you”. But Trump said he wasn’t bothered by the interruption because “everyone plays their games”.
“She’s lying in bed getting better and we want her better”, he added.
Trump while speaking to about 50 or so people inside Bethel United Methodist Church said, “Hillary Clinton failed on the economy, just like she has failed on foreign policy”.
Trump began his brief speech with a joke.
Little Miss Flint, whose real name is Amariyanna Copeny, became the de facto mascot Flint’s recovery efforts when she wrote a letter to President Barack Obama about the water crisis in May.
As Trump began to criticize his opponent, Hillary Clinton, Timmons slowly walked back onto the stage.
“Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint, not to give a political speech”, Timmons said in a low voice.
“Oh, oh, OK, OK, OK”.
“Mr. Trump knew today would be hostile political territory, but he’s running to be president for all Americans, and that means being willing to visit with all communities”, Miller said in a statement.
The Republican nominee quickly stopped, then said “Ok, that’s good, Then I’m going to go back to Flint” and its water crisis that had sickened its citizens. “I’ll tell you what made me feel good – the audience was saying, ‘Let him speak, let him speak.’ And the audience was so great…but she was so nervous, she was like a nervous mess, so I figured something was up”. CNN reported a woman interrupted Trump to allege he “discriminated against black tenants” in a reference to the 1973 Justice Department civil rights lawsuit against Trump and his father’s landlord practices.
Advertisement
Trump’s visit to Flint, like his one last month to flood-stricken Louisiana, is bound to produce images aimed at persuading Americans that the celebrity businessman can appear presidential.
