Trump confident he’ll be endorsed by African-American pastors

“Probably some of the Black Lives Matter folks called them up and said, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t be meeting with Trump because he believes all lives matter, ‘” Trump said Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” referring to the movement protesting against police brutality and the killing of unarmed African-Americans.

Despite signs of reticence among black evangelical voters, presidential candidate Donald Trump remains determined to court them.

“I saw it somewhere on television many years ago”. In Sarasota, people were telling me yesterday they used to live in New Jersey. “Just play cool”, replied Trump, arguing that it was logical the New Jersey celebrations would have taken place because Muslims in other parts of the world cheered the attack. I saw clips. And so did many other people.

And up until this weekend, the claim coming from Trump HQ was that the candidate, constantly under fire for being one of the most racially divisive political figures from a major party in years, was about to get the ringing endorsement of those African-American faith leaders.

Beforehand, Trump will appear at a $2,500-a-person VIP photo reception.

After inviting 100 prominent black pastors to a press conference scheduled for Monday, the Trump campaign prematurely announced their endorsements to the dismay of some invited guests.

“I have it upon a certain amount of knowledge – I’m very friendly with a lot of people on both sides – that Obama’s plan is 200,000 to 250,000”, Trump said.

Earlier this month, the real-estate tycoon invited criticism for his remark that Arab and Muslim Americans had celebrated the terror strikes. They also expressed concern that the meeting on Monday would “give Trump the appearance of legitimacy among those who follow your leadership and respect your position as clergy”.

An Ohio pastor who has helped to arrange meetings between Trump and black religious leaders, Darrell Scott, blames a miscommunication.

That being a fact, I, again, am mystified by why so many pastors-on Monday, November 30th, 2015, Mr. Trump will meet with a coalition of black clergy who want to hear him out, though he’s said plenty and none of it substantive-would risk their reputations to stand with an embattled man who nearly every day does or says something that either denigrates or alienates someone or some group or class of people. So why would I take it back?

“Whether it is [an endorsement event] or not, that’s fine”, Trump said.

In recent days, several of those pastors announced that they would not be attending the meeting, as a result of the backlash from their congregants.

Trump is embroiled in a controversy over whether he mocked Kovaleski’s disability during a rally last week. Kasich and Trump have been going back and forth on Twitter and in public statements for about a week, after Kasich’s super PAC launched an ad that suggests Trump doesn’t have the experience to be elected president.