Detroit pastor thanks Trump for visiting the ‘hood’ that Obama, Biden ignored
Former President Donald Trump was welcomed by Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church in Detroit, Michigan, this past weekend during a roundtable with religious and community leaders aiming to engage black voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The pastor expressed his appreciation for Trump's visit, contrasting it with what he contends is the absence of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden from the "hood" of Detroit.
"President Trump, I'm so humbled that you would be here. President Obama never came to the hood, so to speak," Sewell said to applause from the audience.
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"President Joe Biden went to the big NAACP dinner [in May], but he never came to the hood — so thank you," he added, referring to a perceived neglect by previous Democratic administrations.
Trump's campaign projected this engagement as part of a broader effort to address the concerns of black voters, with Sewell noting on "Fox & Friends First" his support for Trump's Platinum Plan.
The plan promises to increase access to $500 billion for black communities, which could help businesses and churches.
"Those metrics matter to us. So we're going to hold him accountable to the Platinum Plan that he produced," Sewell stated.
Sewell hoped the roundtable would be a "discussion for those who are the least of these and those who are disenfranchised ... to have an opportunity to talk to the former president."
"In urban America, typically people are on the menu but they are never at the table," Sewell stressed.
On Saturday, the Trump campaign launched the "Black Americans for Trump" coalition.
At the roundtable, Trump was joined by high-profile black Republicans, like former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
"Black voters are rallying around Donald J. Trump because of Jobs and Justice," Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said in a statement. "There is a clear contrast this election, as black voters experience the loss of spending power under Biden, the ravaging of their neighborhoods because of crime under Democrat leadership, and Biden's border disproportionately hurting communities of color. Donald Trump offers the best path forward. It's not just a Black agenda, it is an American agenda."
Trump's visit comes as Biden's support among black voters is down from where it was in the lead-up to the 2020 election. As the progressive think tank Brookings notes, a recent Pew survey showed that about one in five African American men say they plan to vote for Trump, which has led to fears among Democrats that the loss of some black voters in liberal stronghold cities like Detroit, Philadelphia and Milwaukee could cost Biden swing states in November.
The Biden campaign held a high-profile, star-studded fundraising event on Saturday in Los Angeles, California, headlined by Hollywood actors and former President Obama, that was expected to raise $28 million.
In a statement shared with media ahead of the weekend, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung criticized Biden for engaging with "elitist, out-of-touch celebrity benefactors" while Trump met with "everyday Americans in Detroit, Mich., an area decimated by Joe Biden's failed policies."
On Friday, the Biden campaign released statements from other Detroit faith leaders denouncing Trump. Pastor Cindy Rudolph accused Trump of "making a mockery of the church, and he continues to lack the moral clarity necessary for the office of the president.”
"Donald Trump has the nerve to waltz into our city and act like he wants to understand the struggles black Detroiters face, but the reality is he doesn’t care,” Pastor James Perkins said in a statement released by the Biden campaign, according to Bridge Michigan. “Every time Trump opens his mouth to talk to black folks, he demonizes us, insults us, and makes empty promises he’ll never keep.”
A recent Wall Street Journal poll indicated a potential surge in support for Trump among black voters nationwide, with 30% considering supporting him over Biden in the upcoming election.
