Trump meets with black pastors

Some press him on tone, but he reports no request to change

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump joins a group of black religious leaders Monday for a news conference after a meeting in New York.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump joins a group of black religious leaders Monday for a news conference after a meeting in New York.

NEW YORK -- Dozens of black pastors pressed Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Monday to address what some called his use of racially charged rhetoric, with several describing a meeting that became tense at times as attendees raised concerns about his blunt language.

While some left the gathering at Trump's skyscraper in midtown Manhattan with hopes their message had resonated, Trump said afterward he had no plans to change his approach, which he said had taken him to "first position in every single poll."

"The beautiful thing about the meeting is that they didn't really ask me to change the tone," Trump said. "I think they really want to see victory, because ultimately it is about, we want to win and we want to win together."

At a rally later Monday in Macon, Ga., Trump told a nearly all-white audience of about 5,000 that the meeting was "inspiring" and "unbelievable."

"It was a really terrific day," he said.

Radio host and failed 2012 presidential hopeful Herman Cain was among those who introduced Trump in Georgia. Cain was the lone major black Republican candidate four years ago. Trump also interrupted his own 75-minute speech to bring another black Georgia Republican to the microphone. Bruce LeVell, who has served as party chairman in suburban Atlanta's Gwinnett County, announced his endorsement, drawing roars from Trump's backers.

But several pastors who met in New York with the billionaire real estate mogul, who has held a consistent lead in preference polls of GOP voters for several months due in large part to his aggressive style of campaigning, said the session was a bit more complicated.

There was no wide-ranging endorsement from the group, some of whom had said they were surprised when the gathering was advertised as such by Trump's campaign.

"We had a wonderful time in the meeting," said Darrell Scott, the senior pastor of New Spirit Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who helped to organize the meeting. "We made a lot of progress. It's not the last one."

After many of the religious leaders invited to the meet-and-greet objected over the weekend to its description as an endorsement event, Trump's campaign decided to keep the meeting private and canceled a news conference afterward meant to announce the support of the pastors.

When asked, neither Trump nor Scott would say how many of those who attended had now decided to back his campaign.

Scott said more than 100 preachers from across the country attended the meeting, despite criticism in an open letter in Ebony magazine from more than 100 black religious leaders.

In the letter, the group wrote that "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." They also expressed concern that the meeting Monday would "give Trump the appearance of legitimacy among those who follow your leadership and respect your position as clergy."

Last month, a black protester was roughed up by Trump supporters at a rally in Birmingham, Ala. Trump said after the incident, "Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing."

Information for this article was contributed by Bill Barrow of The Associated Press.

A Section on 12/01/2015

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