Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:08 pm
Donald Trump’s appearance at an African-American church in Detroit went wrong, as the congregation rejected Trump by not showing up to hear him speak.
Here was the scene as Trump entered the church:
Nowhere near a full crowd as Trump enters (far left) pic.twitter.com/kL1AlVukG4
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— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) September 3, 2016
The place was nearly empty. Donald Trump did give a speech to the few members of the congregation that were there and it was as condescending and offensive as one would imagine:
Trump told African-Americans that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, which is why they should vote for him:
.@realDonaldTrump: "A lot of people don't realize" Abraham Lincoln was a Republican https://t.co/q9Gu8G8cMw https://t.co/i4kQQ7cPF2
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 3, 2016
Trump claimed that he was there to remedy injustice:
.@realDonaldTrump in African-American church: "I'm here today to learn, so that we can together remedy injustice" https://t.co/dswRMGmLiW
— ABC News (@ABC) September 3, 2016
And he quoted the Bible, rather unconvincingly:
.@realDonaldTrump concludes remarks at African-American church in Detroit with Bible passage https://t.co/q9Gu8G8cMw https://t.co/voVbsYdSqL
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 3, 2016
Trump also got a prayer shawl from Israel:
.@realDonaldTrump given prayer shawl from Israel after remarks at African-American church in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/BH4M8dCoTr
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 3, 2016
The whole appearance was about the photo-op of Trump appearing in an African-American church. Donald Trump is not sincerely trying to get the votes of African-Americans. The Republican nominee is trying to convince white suburban voters that he is not a racist.
Trump’s publicity stunt backfired because the church congregation in large part refused to be used as political props. Donald Trump went to an African-American church, said some words that he didn’t write, and then posed for pictures.
What the Trump campaign never planned for was the rejection of their candidate by the congregation.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
