Donald Trump Publicized A Mass Endorsement By Black Pastors, Who Responded With Denials

Donald Trump is still kicking despite his falling approval ratings after a disastrous week on the campaign trail. One of his many recent moves include asking a Birmingham crowd for assistance with removing a Black Lives Matter protester from a rally. Trump found the man’s actions “disgusting,” and his followers kicked and punched the man. Later, Trump publicly approved of those violent actions by saying the man deserved to be “roughed up.”

Perhaps Team Trump wishes to do damage control, but the (still) leading GOP candidate took to Twitter and announced a special Monday event. Trump said he would meet with a number of African-American pastors. The press wasn’t invited, and the implication was that these pastors would endorse him.

Trump did not realize (or perhaps he simply ignored) how some of the invited pastors already took to social media with denials. They want no part of Trump’s campaign. Bishop Clarence E. McClendon says Trump invited him to the meeting and publicized his attendance, but McClendon “had made no plans to attend the meeting and indeed will NOT be in attendance.” Likewise, Pastor Corletta J. Vaughn called Trump “an insult and embarrassment” with “ZERO experience” who is “flaunting a ticket of unbridled bigotry, sexism, racism, and everything that is wrong with America.”

The Associated Press published a revealing article about how Trump has canceled the big “endorsement” meeting after pastors spoke out. In addition, the AP quotes an open letter to Ebony from more than 100 pastors who urged their colleagues not to attend the meeting: “Trump’s racially inaccurate, insensitive and incendiary rhetoric should give those charged with the care of the spirits and souls of black people great pause.” The letter also warned how meeting with Trump would lend him “the appearance of legitimacy.”

(Was the meeting canceled? We may never know the answer, because Trump said the press wasn’t invited.)

Earlier on Sunday, CNN discussed the Ebony story. The cable news channel also spoke with Minister Cindy Trimm, who was one of Trump’s coveted invitees. At the time, she admitted plans to attend the meeting, but did not know whether she’d endorse him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rniwJYTi-Zc

Trump did not express outright feelings about the Ebony letter, the AP story, or the social media denials from pastors. He did take time out from his busy Sunday to trash “biased” and “boring” news organizations.

Yet it was a very busy Sunday for Trump. He called in for Meet the Press, which saw him enter into a shouting match with host Chuck Todd. The two spoke about Trump’s bizarre 9/11 claims. Trump refused to back down: “I saw it. So many people saw it, so, why would I take it back? I’m not going to take it back.” Todd responded, “You’re running for president of the United States. Your words matter. Truthfulness matters.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOWPlH63MlI

Meanwhile, other GOP candidates are doing their thing in an effort to appear different than Trump. More specifically, they’re tackling the Syrian refugee issue in the opposite manner from Trump. Jeb Bush appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation to call Trump “kind of scary,” especially when it comes to Trump’s thoughts on ISIS and Syria: “No one’s holding him to account.”

Whereas Ben Carson traveled to Jordan this weekend and met with Syrian refugees by handing out Beanie Babies to children. Carson said, “I find when you have firsthand knowledge of things as opposed to secondhand, it makes a much stronger impression.” He tweeted and Facebooked his sentiments, which included saying the refugees “deserve our help,” but “bringing 25,000 refugees to the U.S. doesn’t solve this crisis.”

(Via CNN, Associated Press, Meet the Press, and Face The Nation)