There. Is. Nothing. Like. (Smile Warmly) Having. A. Casual. And. Spontaneous. Conversation. (Try not to sneer.)
Donald Trump is visiting Great Faith Ministries in Detroit on Saturday. That’s a church, which itself is not the natural habitat of the Trump. But this church is a church for “the blacks,” so Trump is really on unknown terrain. Actual black people might speak to him.
Trump will not be talking to the congregation. Because even when he’s running in full watching-a-tennis-match back-and-forth reading from a telePrompter mode, Donald Trump has been known to … extemporize, and this is supposed to be a feel-good photo-op, not a chance for Donald to explain his thoughts on anything. Anything at all.
Instead, Trump will be talking to the church’s pastor, and his staff is taking no chances on what he might say.
... instead of letting Mr. Trump be his freewheeling self, his campaign prepared lengthy answers for the submitted questions, consulting black Republicans to make sure he says the right things.
An eight-page draft script obtained by The New York Times shows 12 questions that Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, the pastor, intends to ask Mr. Trump in the taped question-and-answer session, as well as the responses Mr. Trump is being advised to give.
There will be 12 questions. No more no less. You don’t have to guess.
It is not uncommon for a candidate to request interview questions in advance; aides to Hillary Clinton do it from time to time. But it is unusual for a campaign to go so far as to prepare a script for a candidate’s own responses, and highlights the sensitivity of Mr. Trump’s first appearance at a black church. A series of slights, including his questioning of President Obama’s birth certificate, has not endeared him to black voters.
Why would anyone would believe that Donald Trump, given five seconds to think on his own, might say something offensive?
As an example of Trump’s written responses, here’s what the orange one is supposed to say when he’s asked why black voters should go his way,
“If you want a strong partner in this journey, you will vote for me. I will never let you down,” Mr. Trump is directed to say, adding, “By the way, my support is now up to 8 percent and climbing.”
No. No, it’s not.
Friday, Sep 2, 2016 · 1:26:16 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner
Since it leaked that Donald Trump had a script for how he was going to respond to every question—an unprecedented level of DON’T let Trump be Trump—it’s been decided that the Trump campaign will actually allow Donald Trump to roam free.
He’ll get ten minutes, or maybe just five, to talk with the members of the congregation.
Please, if you’re a member of Great Faith Ministries, be thinking on something nice to ask Donald Trump. You could give ask him what he thinks about reparations. Or request his favorite verse from Three Corinthians.
Or hey, maybe you can explain to him that you do have something to lose.