Washington: Don King, the controversial boxing promoter, on Wednesday urged black voters to support Donald Trump, appearing at an Ohio church with the Republican nominee to say they "need" him in the White House.
Portraying Trump as an agent of "inclusiveness", King contended that the billionaire would break down "the system" that he said had held women and black people back. "The system is the problem, and he's the only gladiator who will take on the system," he said, adding: "We need Donald Trump, especially black people."
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Don King drops the N-word at Trump rally
The famed boxing promoter seemed to accidentally utter the N-word during a speech introducing US Presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally in Cleveland.
But at a event in Kenansville, North Carolina,Trump faced a swift backlash after declaring that African-Americans are "in the worst shape they've ever been" during a campaign event.
"We're going to rebuild our inner cities because our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape they've ever been in before. Ever, ever, ever," Trump said during a campaign event where thousands of supporters gathered.
The comments drew immediate criticism from critics who accused him of failing to consider the United States' history with slavery and North Carolina's history with Jim Crow laws and segregation. Kenansville itself is named after a man whose family owned a slave-driven plantation.
Trump has been regularly blasted for the way he has spoken about the struggles facing black Americans throughout the country. Black leaders have accused him of stereotyping African-Americans. He has compared American inner cities to war zones, has overstated unemployment among blacks, and has often asked several times saying "What do you have to lose?".
"You take a look at the inner cities, you get no education, you get no jobs, you get shot walking down the street. They're worse, I mean honestly, places like Afghanistan are safer than some of our inner cities," Trump said on Tuesday. "And I say to the African-American communities, and I think it's resonating, because you see what's happening with my poll numbers with African-Americans. They're going, like, high."
President Barack Obama on Saturday tore into Trump on that very issue, suggesting that Trump lacked historical awareness. "You may have heard Hillary [Clinton]'s opponent in this election say that there's never been a worse time to be a black person. I mean, he missed that whole civics lesson about slavery or Jim Crow," Obama said during the Congressional Black Caucus gala in Washington.
![Boxing promoter Don King holds up the hand of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a visit to the ...](/web/20160922100240im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/n/x/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grlp35.png/1474513883833.jpg)
Obama urged black voters to vote for Clinton. In a video of the Saturday gala dinner shared widely on social media this week, Obama implores with the audience on Saturday not to let is legacy go to waste.
"All the progress we have made is in stake at this election. My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot," he said in the speech, possibly his most passionate to date.
!['It's about me': President Barack Obama speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's annual dinner on Satuday.](/web/20160922100240im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/p/m/y/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grlp35.png/1474513883833.jpg)
"Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot."
"If I hear anybody saying their vote does not matter, that it doesn't matter who we elect, read up on your history. It matters. We've got to get people to vote," Obama said.
![The audience wait to greet President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Saturday night.](/web/20160922100240im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/l/p/m/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grlp35.png/1474513883833.jpg)
"I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good send off? Go vote."
In Ohio, King caused a stir by using a racial epithet during the introduction. After describing Trump as "the man who will save America", King recounted a conversation he had with Michael Jackson about the roles black people had played in the US.
"I told Michael Jackson, 'if you're poor you're a poor negro'. I would use the n-word. But, 'if you're rich, you're a rich negro.... If you're a dancing and sliding and gliding n----r, I mean negro! You're a dancing and sliding and gliding negro'."
The remark elicited nervous laughter from many in attendance and a wry smile from Trump, who was seated behind King.
The choice of King as speaker was a bold one. He has been sued several times for alleged fraud and was convicted of murder in 1996 for allegedly beating a man to death over a $US600 debt. That charge was reduced to manslaughter, and he was pardoned after serving four years in prison.
Due to his chequered past, the Republican National Committee vetoed Trump's suggestion that King address the party's convention in July. But Trump has spoken admiringly of King on many occasions, and chose him to make an appeal to black voters on Tuesday.
Mike Pence, the vice-presidential nominee, introduced King as "one of the greatest promoters in the history of sports" and Trump's long-time friend. Holding American and Israeli flags and donning a denim jacket covered with numerous patriotic patches, King heaped praise on Trump, calling him a symbol of "inclusiveness".
The property mogul returned the favour after taking the podium, lauding King as "a good guy" and "a phenomenal person" whom he respects greatly.
The church visit - and "town hall on African American concerns" - comes as Trump attempts to win black voters from Hillary Clinton, who has a huge advantage among the demographic. On On Monday, he insisted that the outreach was working. But it was widely noted on social media that the audience for the town hall appeared to be largely devoid of minorities.
Telegraph, London; Fairfax Media, Washington Post
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