A group of African-American pastors have pledged to meet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. One-hundred black religious leaders are expected to converge Monday at Trump Towers.
Darrell Scott, a pastor of the New Spirit Revival Center in Ohio and one of the leaders attending Monday's event, said that he is endorsing Trump because he agrees with his political views.
"I've waited long enough. I'm ready to commit," Scott said, according to The Wall Street Journal. "My motives are for the better of America."
"If God raises up somebody who can speak the word of God to Trump who he will listen to, and God feels I can help provide an avenue for him to have a dialog with African American, then I embrace that position,'' Scott added, The Daily Beast reported.
While Scott is ready to endorse Trump, other ministers meeting with Trump are not ready to announce an official endorsement.
"I am not officially endorsing ANY candidate and when I do you will NOT need to hear it from pulpitting courtjesters who suffer from intellectual and spiritual myopia," Bishop Clarence McClendon wrote on his Facebook page.
Trump has had a history of making disparaging comments about African-Americans. Since President Barack Obama's election in 2009, Trump questioned whether Obama was an American citizen.
He also recently criticized Black Lives Matter movement protesters. "I think they're looking for trouble,'' Trump said, The Washington Times reported. He also condoned a Black Lives Matter protester getting punched by Trump's security.
"Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing," said Trump, according to CNN.
While some black ministers are willing to meet with Trump for a possible endorsement, Rev. Jamal Bryant is definitely opposed to Trump's policies. "I don't know what policy these pastors could mobilize around. I can't find a strand of any policy he has that the larger black community would be respond to," Bryant said.
Bryant added how he feels about Trump's attitudes towards African-Americans. "It's a cross between Archie Bunker and reality television,'' said Bryant, according to the Daily Beast.
