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Trump tells black churchgoers in Detroit: ‘I’m here today to learn’

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DETROIT: Donald Trump swayed to songs of worship, read scripture and donned a Jewish prayer shawl Saturday during a visit to a predominantly black church in Detroit, where he called for a “civil rights agenda of our time” and vowed to fix the “many wrongs” facing African-Americans.

“I am here to listen to you,” Trump told the congregation at the Great Faith Ministries International. “I’m here today to learn.”

Trump has stepped up his outreach to minority voters in recent weeks as he tries to expand his appeal beyond his GOP base. The visit was Trump’s first to a black church — a rare appearance in front of a largely minority audience for the candidate who typically attracts overwhelmingly white crowds.

Trump was introduced by Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who warned that he was in for something different. “This is the first African-American church he’s been in, y’all! Now it’s a little different from a Presbyterian church,” he said.

While protesters were a vocal presence outside, Trump made a pitch inside for support from an electorate strongly aligned with Democrat Hillary Clinton.

“Our nation is too divided,” said Trump, who is known for making contentious remarks. “We talk past each other, not to each other. And those who seek office do not do enough to step into the community and learn what is going on.”

Striking a rare unifying tone, he said, “I’m here today to learn so that we can together remedy injustice in any form.”

Trump also praised the black church as “the conscience of our country” and said the nation needs “a civil rights agenda of our time” that includes the right to a quality education, safe neighborhoods and good jobs.

Before he left, he was presented with a prayer shawl, which Jackson draped over Trump’s shoulders, and a Jewish Heritage Studies bible. Trump also met with a smaller group of church members and recorded an interview with the pastor.

Outside the church, several separate protests swelled into a throng of about 400 people denouncing Trump. At one point, the protesters tried to push through a barrier to the parking lot but were stopped by church security and police.

The Rev. Lawrence Glass, one of the clergy denouncing Trump’s visit, said Trump represents the “politics of fear and hate,” and “minorities of all kinds have much to lose taking a chance on someone like” Trump.

After the church visit, Trump made a brief stop at the southwest Detroit childhood home of Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who ran against Trump in the primaries and is now advising the campaign.


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