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
— 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.