Flanked by a few black supporters, including Ben Carson, a former presidential candidate, and Omarosa Manigault, a former contestant on “The Apprentice”, Trump cut a subdued figure here at Great Faith Ministries International.
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No matter the outcome of Saturday’s events, it’s an uphill battle for Trump in Detroit: According to a poll last month by the Detroit Free Press, Clinton has 92% of the vote and 8% are undecided.
Outside the church during the event, some protesters chanted, “What do you have to lose?”.
Trump was met outside the Christian church by dozens of demonstrators, including African American pastors, who called Trump a racist.
Trump said that it was from black churches “all across this land that the civil rights movement lifted up its soul and lifted up our nation”.
Trump told the audience he was there to “listen to your message” and said he hoped his appearance would “also help your voice to reach new audiences in our country”. “We talk past each other and do not talk to each other”. “Things are going to get better”.
As part of his continued effort to appeal to minority voters, the GOP presidential nominee visited the church on Saturday and taped an interview with Bishop Wayne T. Jackson beforehand.
“Those who seek office do not do enough to step into the community and learn what’s going on”.
Rev. Lawrence Glass, one of the clergy denouncing Trump’s visit, said Trump represents the “politics of fear and hate”, and “minorities of all kinds have much to lose taking a chance on someone like” Trump.
“I just wrote this the other day, knowing that I’d be here, and it comes from the heart”, Trump said.
But she said she also had concerns about Clinton’s support in the 1990s for crime legislation signed by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, which many black Americans say contributed to high incarceration rates in their communities.
“We’re told he’ll be there for at least an hour and a half and then he’s going to record an interview with the pastor, which will then be edited and broadcast on a black television channel in a couple of days”, said Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from outside the church.
But Denaria Thorn, who also attended the service, said she remained opposed to Trump’s candidacy and that she was “expecting an apology” for harsh rhetoric he delivered in the past.
“I fully understand that the African-American community has suffered from discrimination and that there are many wrongs that must still be made right”, Trump said, adding: “For any who are hurting: Things are going to turn around”.
At the end of his remarks, Trump was given a Jewish prayer shawl by Jackson.
The post Trump promises African Americans jobs, prosperity appeared first on Punch Newspapers.
“Donald Trump says that all black people are living in poverty and our schools are failing, we’re unemployed”.
Opinion polls show Trump has low support among US minorities.
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“Nothing is more sad than when we sideline young black men with tremendous potential”, he said.
