Trump visits black church with new tone for same old pitch
African Americans seem to be the belle of the ball this election season and so Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made his call on a mostly black Detroit congregation on Saturday.
Trump said black churches “in the pews and pulpits” were the foundation of the civil rights movement and of the Christian faith, and urged the congregation to work with him to restore America’s once-prosperous urban centers.
Unlike his usual campaign stops where he confidently has addressed mostly white crowds that supported him and his plans for the country, Trump’s visit to Detroit on Saturday was meant to be more intimate.
“I’m here today to learn”, said Trump, who is Presbyterian.
But in Detroit, he extolled African Americans’ contributions to America and the moralizing force of the country’s black churches. “They said this was a free event but then they wouldn’t let me in without a ticket”.
“What the hell have you got to lose?”
“Because Donald say the Mexican people, they doesn’t work”, Paz told Pluta.
One of the protesters, Rosendo Delgado, 62, of Detroit, who said she is Latino, said Trump “shoots from the hip without analyzing what he is saying”.
Trump has been faulted for largely ignoring the black community during his campaign, and bypassing appearances before black churches and organizations in favor of rowdy, largely white rallies. We talk past each other, not to each other.
The Times said it had a document that includes the exact wording of answers the aides are proposing for Trump to give to questions about police killings, racial tension and the perception among many black voters that he and the Republican Party are racist, among other topics. Trump also met with a smaller group of church members and recorded an interview with the pastor.
However, Bishop Jackson said he didn’t see any problem with the Trump campaign screening his questions.
The hashtag #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner became wildly popular after Marco Gutierrez, who was born in Mexico and co-founded Latinos for Trump, said about immigration rates on MSNBC, “If you don’t do something about it, you’re going to have taco trucks [on] every corner”.
Rev. Lawrence Glass, one of the clergy denouncing Trumps 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. Ben Carson, who is from Detroit.
Surrounded by security and a swarm of reporters, Trump spoke briefly with the home’s current owner, Felicia Reese.
“Your house is worth a lot of money.” he told her, thanks to the Carson connection.
Blacks account for 12 percent of the U.S. electorate, and Trump, who trails in the polls, recently has sought gingerly to widen his base. Most polls show his support among black voters is in the low single digits. Detroits median household income is just over $26,000 not even half the median for the nation, according to the census.