A Georgia pastor called the black politicians who spoke at the Republican National Convention on President Trump’s behalf “slaves” during a Friday protest at the Lincoln Memorial.
The Rev. Jamal Bryant, speaking with many other faith and political leaders at the event organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, recalled the legacy of the Underground Railroad hero Harriet Tubman before lashing out at black Trump supporters.
“I freed thousands of slaves, but I would have freed hundreds more had they known they were slaves,” he said, attributing those words to Tubman.
“I only thought about that when I saw the slaves on TV this week endorsing Donald Trump,” he continued. “I said, ‘If only they knew they were slaves, they could have been rendered free.'”
The Republican convention, which concluded Thursday, featured many black speakers who said that Trump had shown support for minority communities. These included South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
Scott in his speech pushed back against recent comments from Joe Biden, in which the former vice president said that if black people don’t vote for him, then they “ain’t black.” Cameron also spoke out against those comments, as well as past comments from Biden, where he claimed that Republicans would put black people “back in chains.”
“Mr. Vice President, look at me. I am black,” Cameron said. “We are not all the same, sir. I am not in chains. My mind is my own. And you can’t tell me how to vote because of the color of my skin.”
The convention also featured longtime friend to Trump and former NFL star Herschel Walker, who said that accusations of racism against Trump “hurt my soul.”
“I take that as a personal insult, that people would think I’ve had a 37-year friendship with a racist,” Walker said. “People don’t know what they’re talking about. Growing up in the Deep South, I’ve seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn’t Donald Trump.”
The event at which Bryant spoke also featured appearances from Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and California Sen. Kamala Harris, who is Biden’s running mate.
