Religious Leader Plans Protest Of Trump’s Talk to Detroit African Americans

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:07 pm

A Reverend is planning to protest Donald Trump’s “Look I’m not a racist” PR tour on its first stop in Detroit, Michigan.

Rev. W.J. Rideout III, Pastor of All God’s People Church in Detroit, will lead a protest against Republican nominee Donald Trump according to the Detroit Free Press.

The Reverend said, “I don’t want him (Donald Trump) to think that he can come in here and get our votes.

“Donald Trump is an opportunist, and this guy will reach out to get a vote from the worst fish in the sea. He doesn’t care if he gets a vote from a rock. He just wants to get into the White House,” Rideout continued. “He’s outsourcing jobs overseas. Yet you’re talking about making American great again.”

Pastor W.J. Rideout III is a leader in Detroit’s Good Jobs Now coalition, which fights for economic justice for all Detroiters, and as such has a history of advocating for labor rights — including leading hundreds of protesters advocating for a minimum wage hike in 2016.

Speaking of a huge labor walkout in 2013 during which fast food workers at more than 60 restaurants in Detroit walked off the job, Rideout explained that the protests against Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s policies helped organize low-wage workers. He said, “The emergency management kind of sparked an anger here and a movement.”

It’s fair to say that Rideout is looking specifically at economic policy and its impact on Detroiters, so it’s understandable that there’s nothing much Donald Trump can say that will make him more appealing to the Pastor.

Donald Trump’s real point in visiting Great Faith Ministries in Detroit, Michigan is to be seen talking to black people so he can get “credit” for it among the college educated Republican whites who don’t want to be seen supporting an overt racist. There has been no suggestion that Trump will change his economic policies to appeal more to minority voters or will stop negatively stereotyping African Americans.

Detroit is an odd choice for Trump’s first stop, as it isn’t the kind of place that will take being used lying down. When Mitt Romney visited in 2012 after pushing for the Detroit auto industry to go bankrupt, union workers lined up American made cars in the upper deck of a parking garage and placed a letter on each car to let him know what they thought.

The UAW message read: “Romney: ‘Let Detroit go bankrupt”.

And now in 2016, Reverend Rideout will lead a protest to let Donald Trump know that he can’t just come to Detroit and expect to get people’s votes, especially when his policies aren’t good for them.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Follow Me

Sarah Jones

Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.

Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.

Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Connect with Sarah on Post,  Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.

Follow Me

Latest posts by Sarah Jones (see all)

• Philly DA Warns Anyone Planning to Play Militia ‘F Around and Find Out’ - Mon, Nov 4th, 2024
• Opinion: Republicans Kill Another Woman with Abortion Ban as Pregnant Teenager Dies - Fri, Nov 1st, 2024
• Musk Flouts the Law with No Repercussions in Pennsylvania - Thu, Oct 31st, 2024