Many black people here, she says, are still stung by the Republican presidential nominee’s visit to MI last month, when he went before a mostly white audience and declared, “You live in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed”.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Saturday spoke at a black church for the first time as a candidate, condemning racism and promising economic prosperity for the African-American community, while emphasizing that he was there to “learn and listen”.
Trump was supposed to sit down for a televised interview with Jackson, and then attend the service.
DETROIT (AP) – Criticized for urging black voters to support him while speaking to mostly white audiences, Donald Trump visited a predominantly black church to call for a “civil rights agenda for our time”.
‘For centuries, the African-American church has been the conscience of this country.
He was scheduled to do an interview with the Republican presidential candidate. “They will be made right”, Mr Trump said.
The Republican presidential nominee told the congregation at Detroit’s Great Faith Ministries International on Saturday that he would fix the “many wrongs” facing African-Americans. “I’m here today to learn”.
Trump in recent days has shifted his attention toward minority voters, meeting with black religious and business leaders in Philadelphia on Friday and with black and Latino Republicans in NY the week before.
Even though that was the first black church Trump has visited since his campaign began, he thought of a way to use it to his advantage.
African Americans account for 12 per cent of the U.S. electorate, and traditionally lean heavily Democratic.
The charm offensive has been met with skepticism, but some analysts say it could make a difference in certain swing states.
While protesters kept a vocal presence outside the house of worship, Trump made a pitch inside for support from an electorate strongly aligned with his opponent
Hillary Clinton.
“A vote for her (Clinton) is a vote for another generation of poverty, high crime and lost opportunities”, Trump said.
Before he left, he was presented with a prayer shawl, which Jackson draped over Trumps shoulders, and a Jewish Heritage Studies bible.
Trump’s efforts thus far to attract greater support from minority groups have largely fallen flat.
But of course, this attack on Trump and his message of unity to Detroit’s African-American community comes at a time when Hillary Clinton’s health and judgment has become an issue for voters after the Federal Bureau of Investigation report released on Friday.
“We are protesting against someone who has proven to have a legacy of bigotry and bullying. people of color and people of faith are not standing for Trump and his antics of racial bias”.
Outside, protesters representing a wide swath of ages and ethnic backgrounds chanted “Go home, Trump”, many expressing doubt that Mr. Trump cared about African-Americans. She actually told me afterwards that she was happy to meet Trump and talk with him, but she’s not voting for him. “Anybody who is in this church should be appalled”. Also in the audience was Detroit native Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who ran against Trump in the primaries and is now advising the campaign.
So, do you think he may have converted some of the Black voters? Lawrence said. “I don’t want my grandchild to listen to the rhetoric that she, as a woman and as an African-American, is classified and stereotyped as uneducated”, Lawrence said.
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Trump accuses Democrats of failing residents in many US cities, particularly African-Americans. Almost 40 percent of residents are impoverished, compared with about 15 percent of Americans overall.
