Mr Trump, eager to blunt criticism that his campaign inspires racism in the midst of what he called “a national crisis”, has sought to express empathy in recent days.
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Obama, the nation’s first black president, was taking issue with the Republican nominee’s suggestion this week that ‘African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape than they’ve ever been in before – ever, ever, ever’.
Considering Trump’s Southern venue, one might conclude that this was at least a bit hyperbolic.
It’s the latest Trump paradox.
Donald Trump’s continued outreach to African-American voters led to an unprecedented declaration about the state of life for those communities.
Obama was asked about Trump’s attempts to woo black voters, which prompted an unimpressed reaction from our president. Protocols for how to use them are part of the current police union negotiations. But his poll standing among black voters in many states is extremely low – some surveys in August found him with 0% support among black voters in several states.
Addressing unrest in North Carolina in the wake of a police killing of an African-American man, Trump said peaceful protest is an American right, but he condemned demonstrators who turn violent. “I don’t know what she was thinking but I’m very, very troubled by that”, Trump said, calling it a “terrible situation”.
“You may have heard Hillary’s opponent in the election say that there’s never been a worse time to be a black person”.
At the end of an OH church event organized by members of his diversity coalition, Trump was asked about recent high-profile police shootings in Oklahoma and North Carolina. “It’s like ‘wow, here we go again, ‘” Trump said of the protests, noting that he was “not overly surprised” about what went on. “It’s unbearable, and it needs to become intolerable”, she said.
“The community deserves answers and (a) full investigation will ensue”, she said on Twitter, adding in a subsequent post, “I want answers too”. Stop-and-frisk, in which police stop, question and search pedestrians for weapons or contraband, has drawn protests and successful legal challenges because it is seen as unfairly targeting minorities.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney said Scott was carrying a gun, though he admitted video of the attack did not show definitively he was carrying a weapon or pointed it at police. “It matters. We’ve got to get people to vote”, Obama said. “I’ll see you in four years.’ Hillary Clinton is an example of it”.
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The comments come as Trump simultaneously tries to reach out to black voters and advocate for the highly controversial policing policy of stop and frisk that involves police searching and questioning pedestrians.
