.@realDonaldTrump begins criticizing Clinton during remarks in Flint church, gets cut off by pastor. pic.twitter.com/P0odYUkXsD
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) September 14, 2016
Donald Trump‘s Wednesday trip to Flint, Mich. came with a familiar disclaimer: that it wasn’t about politics, but rather about connecting with the people in one of America’s most besieged communities. Yet unlike most covert campaign stops, there was someone there to call out the candidate when things veered off course.
Trump had been invited to speak at Flint’s Bethel United Methodist Church; during his remarks, he began to criticize his opponent, Hillary Clinton, saying, “Hillary failed on the economy just like she’s failed on foreign policy. Everything she touched didn’t work out. How Hillary Clinton…”
Before Trump could get too deeply into his talking points, Reverend Faith Green Timmons interrupted. “Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we’ve done in Flint,” she said. “Not give a political speech.”
Trump replied, saying “Oh okay. Okay. That’s good. Then I’m going back to Flint,” and shuffled the pages on which his speech was written.
The Reverend later handed to the press a statement that reads: “Trump’s presence in no way represents an endorsement of his candidacy. What we pray is that it conveys a fine example of a faithful, intelligent, historically African-American congregation at work, serving and volunteering among the people of Flint as we work through this crisis of national impact.”
Here's the statement the church here in Flint is handing out: pic.twitter.com/qwPEy9p5Fn
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) September 14, 2016
At the end of July, six officials from Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services were charged for the roles they played in Flint’s ongoing clean water crisis.
(Via ABC News)