President Trump has reportedly agreed to invite NFL anthem-protesting quarterback Colin Kaepernick and hip-hop star Kanye West, to an upcoming summit on issues of race.
“He is 100 percent for it,” said Darrell Scott, a Cleveland-based pastor advises the White House adviser on issues of religion. “He was very enthusiastic about it.”
Scott says he spoke with Trump about attendees for the summit in the Oval Office, after an outdoor White House ceremony for Thursday’s National Day of Prayer.
Trump’s decision to invite Kaepernick might come as a surprise to some given the president’s harsh criticism of the NFL anthem protest movement, which Kaepernick founded.
During the presidential campaign in 2016, Trump suggested that Kaepernick deal with his dislike for America by finding “a country that works better for him.” Later, as president, Trump said that players who followed Kaepernick’s example by protesting during the anthem, should be fired.
West, on the other hand, has been quite supportive of Trump. Calling the president his “brother,” and saying that the “mob” could not stop the love he has for him.
According to People:
While details of the meetings will be ironed out next week, it’s expected that there be a musicians’ summit followed by a gathering of athletes in the early summer—with both held at the White House, says Scott. The idea had been on the drawing board ‘for quite some time now’ and got a boost following last week’s Trump-West Twitter exchange, the pastor adds.
Scott expects Trump will be in attendance. ‘We don’t want to sanitize it. I want people from the left to attend. I want it to get heated but I want it to be respectful,’ says Scott.
Scott emphasized, “It’s not going to be a black-only event. It will be a melting pot.”
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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