Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:39 pm
This was going to be a big moment for Donald Trump, with room cleared on his calendar for 1 PM ET today to receive the endorsement of 100 black religious leaders. First it turned out that some of these religious leaders had no intention of endorsing him. Then when it became clear the whole thing was a sham, Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks finally came forward and announced (by email no less) Sunday,
“On Monday, Mr. Trump will host an informational meet and greet with many members of the Coalition of African American Ministers. This is not a press event, but a private meeting, after which, a number of attendees are expected to endorse Mr. Trump’s campaign for President.”
This “meet and greet” thing is obviously quite a bit different than an endorsement. And no press to spread the gospel of Trump to black voters across America? This was, as Fox News put it, supposed to be a “showcase.”
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Hicks, of course, declined to answer any questions. The less said at this point, the better. So just pretend it never happened!
That’s right. Trump tweeted yesterday, matter-of-factly for something that was going to be so momentous,
Will be meeting on Monday at Trump Tower with a large group of African American Pastors. Many I know-wonderful people! Not a press event.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2015
And then elaborated with another tweet,
After my meeting with the pastors, it's off to Georgia for a big rally – many thousands of great people will be there, a beautiful movement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2015
The black religious leaders are no longer the main event; Trump Tower is just a way-stop on the road to Georgia and the “big rally” is the thing we should all be excited about.
Very slick. He would make it the great lie that never was. No wonder he is mad at Chuck Todd, who refused to let him gloss over some other facts Sunday:
"@Rketeltas: Every time Trump is gracious enough to do a MSM interview he gets ambushed with nonsensical questions, why is that."
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2015
Imagine that. Shocking that Chuck Todd would say something like facts matter when he says it’s not his job to challenge the lies of the people he interviews. Far less shocking that Trump would rebel at providing evidence for his wackadoodle 9/11 narrative.
Trump thinks he is just going to finesse his way out of the black endorsement scandal too, and scandal it is. With one hand he offers you the spectacle of an endorsement by 100 black religious leaders and with the other, he gives you – Georgia! Yay! See you all there!
Wait…what? To look at what’s coming out of the Trump campaign, the whole endorsement thing never happened. We don’t have to ask The Donald why not. We know.
But the Trump campaign might want to think about it. As Chuck Todd said, and this will be the first and last time I quote Chuck Todd, “Just Because Somebody Repeats It Doesn’t Make It True.”
Unfortunately, as Republicans have discovered with 9/11, it is a lot easier to pretend something never happened than it is to convince people it did.
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.
