Donald Trump will soon be endorsed by a coalition of 100 African-American pastors and evangelical leaders, his campaign announced Wednesday.
The Republican presidential hopeful, who claims to have a “great relationship with the blacks,” will formally announce the coalition’s support in New York City Monday during a press conference at Trump Tower.
Trump’s campaign has yet to reveal the names of any of the individuals endorsing him, but says the candidate has scheduled a private meeting with the pastors and religious leaders ahead of his presser at 1 p.m. ET Monday.
Earlier this week, Trump was slammed by members of the media for retweeting a graphic containing false crime figures which claimed 81 percent of white homicide victims were killed by blacks in 2015.
“All it was, was a retweet. It wasn’t from me,” Trump later told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly.
Trump also faces a potential legal battle over a black activist who alleges he was physically assaulted by the candidate’s supporters at a campaign rally last Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. The activist, Mercutio Southall, is considering pursuing hate crime charges against Trump and several of the rally’s attendees.
While Trump has netted endorsements from nearly a dozen state legislators and numerous conservative pundits, the candidate has yet to be publicly backed by any sitting federal lawmakers or governors.
