Jim Clyburn: ‘No self-respecting African-American would dignify (Trump’s) campaign’

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn told reporters Tuesday that “no self-respecting African-American would dignify” the presidential campaign of GOP nominee Donald Trump.

On the same conference call with reporters, the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House and the most senior black lawmaker on Capitol Hill also condemned fellow South Carolinian Mark Burns, a black pastor and Trump surrogate who recently re-tweeted a cartoon of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in blackface.

Burns, the pastor of the Harvest Praise and Worship Center in Easley, has since apologized for the tweet, which also depicted Clinton wearing a T-shirt that reads “no hot sauce, not peace” and a speech bubble proclaiming, “I ain’t no ways tired of pandering to African-Americans.” Clyburn called Burns’ actions “beyond the pale.”

Burns, the pastor of the Harvest Praise and Worship Center in Easley, has since apologized for the tweet, which also depicted Clinton wearing a T-shirt that reads “no hot sauce, not peace” and a speech bubble proclaiming, “I ain’t no ways tired of pandering to African-Americans.” Clyburn called Burns’ actions “beyond the pale.”

“When you do that,” Clyburn said, “you do not erase the impact that that still has on individuals.”

Clyburn, who participated in the call convened by the Clinton campaign to disavow the Trump campaign’s “troubling ties to a hate movement,” scoffed at these efforts. He said if the Republican nominee truly cared about reaching the black community, he would meet with the NAACP, the Urban League and any of the other black organizations whose invitations to Trump have been declined.

Clyburn also took issue with anyone who would single out Clinton’s use of the phrase “super predator” during a speech she delivered as first lady in 1996.

Critics, including Trump allies and supporters of former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, have said the term was racially loaded. Clyburn said it was obvious she was talking about some bad actors, “not every African-American.”

Ultimately, he said, he was pleased “to speak on behalf of Hillary Clinton, and also to denounce Donald Trump and everything he stands for.”

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