PHILADELPHIA — Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson offered tepid support for Hillary Clinton at a Democratic black caucus event on Monday.
Jackson indicated that she was a preferable choice to Donald Trump, but sounded skeptical about the promise of her presidency.
“We have more than they have. We have hope and they have a wish,” Jackson said. “We hope to win and we hope we will win. We hope that we can trust Hillary on supporting affordable healthcare.”
He continued to list other issues — such as racial justice and gender equality — as among those that matter.
Jackson also criticized the Republican Party, but urged the crowd not to talk about whether Trump is racist.
“Last week we saw a convention in Cleveland, 2,500 delegates, 18 black. That’s a real white house and a real throwback in the America that was, that we know we’re not going back to,” Jackson said. “Is Trump a racist? Trump is a representative of the Republican Party. That’s enough of that. Don’t go and give him no sound bites.
Jackson argued that if black voters mobilize this fall, they can not only stop Trump, but “take the South back.”
