Pastor interrupts Trump to stop him from attacking Clinton in church
Flint, Michigan (CNN) The pastor who hosted Donald
Trump at her church in Flint, Michigan, interrupted the Republican presidential
nominee during his speech Wednesday to ask him to refrain from attacking his
rival Hillary Clinton.
"Mr. Trump, I invited you here to thank us for what we've
done in Flint, not give a political speech," Rev. Faith Green Timmons of
the Bethel United Methodist Church told Trump after walking to the podium while
Trump was speaking.
"OK. That's good. Then I'm going back onto Flint, OK?
Flint's pain is a result of so many different failures," Trump said.
Timmons, in a statement provided at the event, noted her church
welcomes "all people."
"This public event is open to all and today Donald Trump
came to observe. Trump's presence at Bethel United Methodist in no way
represents an endorsement of his candidacy," she had said.
Moments before Timmons interrupted him, Trump had begun
attacking Clinton for supporting free trade agreements, which Trump argued had
caused Flint economic pain.
"Hillary failed on the economy. Just like she's failed on
foreign policy. Everything she touched didn't work out. Nothing. Now Hillary
Clinton --," Trump said before he was cut off by the church's pastor.
The awkward moment was just one of several uncomfortable ones
during Trump's visit to the majority African-American city of Flint on
Wednesday, which marked Trump's latest effort to appeal to black voters. Trump
was also heckled during his visit to the church. His visit to Flint came less
than two weeks after he attended a church service at a predominantly
African-American church in Detroit, where about 200 protesters gathered
outside.
One woman heckling Trump Wednesday interrupted him to raise
allegations that he "discriminated against black tenants," an
apparent reference to the Justice Department's 1973 civil rights lawsuit
against Trump and his father's landlord practices in New York City.
"No, I never -- never would never would," Trump said
before the church's pastor stepped in to defend Trump.
"This is my church and you will respect him," Timmons
said.
Another heckler accused Trump of having called black people
"lazy."
Home to a water crisis
Trump made his first visit to Flint on Wednesday, home to a
water crisis that contaminated the city's water supply, rendering it toxic.
Trump also visited the city's water plant, but in his remarks at
the church, he focused on the decline of US manufacturing and outsourcing that
he claims has hurt Flint's economy.
The real estate mogul's visit to Flint is the most attention
Trump has devoted to the city whose water crisis rose to national prominence
earlier this year.
Throughout most of his campaign, Trump has rarely addressed the
crisis or offered his views, including whether Rick Snyder, the state's Republican
governor, should resign amid mounting pressure.
When he was asked in January as the crisis gained national media
attention about the situation, Trump said he "shouldn't be
commenting."
"Well it's a shame what's happening in Flint, Michigan. A
thing like that shouldn't happen, but again I don't want to comment on that.
They've got a very difficult problem," Trump had said.
And in an interview with a local Michigan TV station on the
morning of the state's primary, Trump called it a "catastrophic event,"
but declined to say whether he believed Snyder should resign.
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