Donald Trump may be making his very first campaign visit to a black community this week, but he won’t actually be speaking to black voters there.
The Republican nominee will attend a Saturday service at the predominantly black Great Faith Ministries in Detroit, but he will not speak to the congregation there, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday. He also will be interviewed by Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, but that interview will be closed to both the public and the media and won’t air on the church’s network for at least a week after the event, according to the report.
Jackson told the newspaper that he was okay with Trump’s decision not to directly address his congregants, saying they trust their bishop’s “judgment” on who he invites to visit the church.
“He will be talking to voters just like when he sits down with any news agency, like CNN,” Jackson said about the upcoming interview. “Every time he’s on Fox or MSNBC, he’s talking to voters.”
Jackson, who said he has voted for Democrats his entire life, clarified that the visit was “not a Trump rally” but an “opportunity for a dialogue.”
He told the Free Press he will ask Trump if he considers himself a Christian, and if he is a racist “because so many people think that’s what you are.”
Trump has in recent weeks made overtures to black voters, telling them Democratic leaders have left them to live in crime-ravaged inner cities. Yet he has faced criticism for delivering those overtures in predominantly white communities.
Trump’s team has painted his visit to Great Faith Ministries as an example of the direct “outreach” he’s doing with minorities.
“Republican presidential nominees usually are not bold enough to go into communities of color and take the case to them and compete for all ears and compete for all votes,” campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said last week. “They’ve been afraid to do that.”
“Mr. Trump deserves credit,” she added.
Trump has visited Detroit before but has not met with black voters there.
The city’s Democratic mayor, Mike Duggan, told the Free Press that he believes Trump “marginalizes huge groups in this country who aren’t rich and who don’t look like him.”
Donnie made this decision when he was told there would be black people attending a black church…
The second presidential debate is typically a town hall meeting. I propose, for the sake of fairness and balance to both sides, that the second debate be held in a black church, moderated by Hannity.
That’s BS and she knows it. Mitt Romney, for all his failings, spoke directly with black congregations. I believe McCain did at least once. You know, Kellyanne, just saying it doesn’t make it true. You people are relentlessly pathetic.
Jeebus be praised. (sigh)
I am waiting impatiently for this election to be over.
Uh, Kellyanne, he’s essentially going to sit in a room with some black people. If you think that takes boldness and courage, and deserves a lot of credit, well, that’s, uh, interesting.