Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited North Philadelphia Friday and was met by more than 50 protesters and a smattering of supporters.
The candidate was visiting to talk with African-American community leaders about why he believes Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton will worsen issues of poverty, unemployment and crime in the city, philly.com reported.
“[The meeting] is not a sham,” James Jones, who is running as a Republican for the second congressional district, told The Temple News. “It was a time that we got to meet the Republican presidential candidate and he spoke well, he spoke well to all of us.”
We heard from many Philadelphians, though, that Trump’s presence in North Philadelphia was not wanted.
Erika Almiron, the executive director of Juntos, a community-led immigrants’ rights organization, said she has concerns about “Trump’s racist rhetoric.”
“His speech a couple of days ago really showed how he likes to criminalize our whole community,” she said.
In the past, presidents Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy and most recently, Barack Obama, have all visited Main Campus to drum up support from young people during election seasons.
Following Clinton’s rally at McGonigle Hall in July, university spokesmen told The Temple News that the university remains bipartisan in its hosting of political events. Any candidate, provided they pay to book a space, could host a rally on Main Campus, they said.
While The Temple News doesn’t endorse presidential candidates or affiliate with a political party, we do encourage the Temple community to take advantage of their rights when it comes to doing so.
We encourage students, faculty and community members to continue respectfully expressing their political opinions like we saw Friday when it comes to local, state and national elections in November.
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