Time to break the cycle of voting for poverty and bigger government.
Donald Trump on Saturday directly addressed a largely African-American audience for the first time as a presidential candidate, delivering a warmly received message of unity that focused on fixing economic hardship in the black community.
Trump spoke to members of the Great Faith Ministries in Detroit, part of his outreach to what is typically a sizable Democratic voting bloc. His visit, however, was marked by protests outside of the church ahead of his arrival.
Sitting in a pew at the front of the congregation, Trump took a selfie with a church member and at one point held up a baby over his shoulders. He then addressed the congregation.
“For centuries, the African-American church has been the conscience of this country. So true,” Trump said, reading from prepared remarks. He added, “The African-American faith community has been one of God’s greatest gifts to America and its people.”
Trump told the audience he was there to “listen to your message” and said he hoped his appearance would “also help your voice to reach new audiences in our country.” He said he would lay out his plans for economic change and school choice — issues that he said would benefit black communities — in the future.
“Our nation is too divided,” said Trump, who spoke in a measured tone. “We talk past each other and not to each other. And those who seek office do not do enough to step into the community and learn what’s going on. I’m here today to learn, so that we can together remedy injustice in any form, and so that we can also remedy economics so that the African-American community can benefit economically through jobs and income and so many other different ways.”
“I believe we need a civil rights agenda for our time,” added Trump, whose remarks were warmly received by the congregation.
After Trump finished speaking, the church’s pastor, Bishop Wayne Jackson, draped a prayer shawl from Israel over Trump’s shoulders and handed him a Bible.
“Let me just put this on you,” Jackson said, as the crowd roared with delight.