When it was announced last week that Donald Trump planned a meeting with Black pastors from prominent churches, many felt the clergy were offering an endorsement. While some pastors considered Trump’s message, many of those who were invited to declined from the gate and voiced their disdain over the association with the mogul.
In the ever-evolving sh*t show that is the Donald Trump presidential campaign, the GOP hopeful has managed to enrapture a rabid following who appreciate his no-holds-barred approach. However, the invitation to Black leaders appeared to be a ruse to show that Trump has some manner of connection with voters from that community.
The flyer to the event that showcased the names of the pastors and images of a few was mistakenly reported as an endorsement. To be fair, nowhere on that document does the event bill itself as a public endorsement but instead it was called a meeting with a “coalition of African-American Ministers.”
The meeting took place on Monday (Nov. 30) at Trump Towers in New York. There is some confusion over whether or not the event was set to be a press conference but it was dialed down to the meeting of a reported 100 leaders in a closed-door session. To the clergy’s credit, many of them checked Trump on his use of racial slurs and other off-color remarks but he made sure to emerge with those Black pastors already in his pocket.
Trump was greeting by a media throng once the event was done, allowing the pastors to speak ahead of him while also lying to himself that the event was a success. Dr. Darrell Scott, one of the leaders who helped put together the event, offered his expected glowing review of the event. Former reality television star Omarosa Manigault, now an ordained minister, also flanked Trump.
While Trump’s handful of shoe-shining church leaders might truly be aligned with the candidate, nothing about this meeting looks to give him a bump. Coupled with the fact that a Black Lives Matter supporter was assaulted at one of his campaigns last month and he still mentioned the insensitive “All Lives Matter” stance shows that he just doesn’t get it.
Despite it all, Trump looked at the meeting as a positive despite the several ministers who declined to come, including many on the flyer. He claimed there was “love” in the room during the meeting although others say the discussion was tense and not loving for one bit.
Trump has ultimately spun this event into fool’s gold, and it’s too bad that his supporters can’t see through his paper-thin shenanigans.
Watch this video report from NBC News in the clip below.
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Photo: NBC News
