Pastor Responds After White Crowds Pack Trump’s Event at Black Church
The Saturday surprise “roundtable” was hosted at 180 Church, a predominately Black congregation in Detroit.

Scott Olson/Getty
The Detroit pastor who hosted Donald Trump’s controversial surprise roundtable at a Black church on Saturday said people laughed in his face when he suggested coming to the event. Pastor Lorenzo Sewell appeared on MSNBC on Sunday night to discuss the turnout at 180 Church for an event intended to be about tackling issues facing Black voters. Photos and footage from the event showed the pews packed with white crowds. Asked by anchor Charles Coleman Jr. if the crowd was “mostly white,” Sewell replied, “I was very surprised...about how many black people were actually, physically in the building.” He added, “I remember walking down Grand River, a place that is desolate on the west side of Detroit, and walking down the street and just inviting people, saying, ‘The former president is here if you want to come.’ They were laughing like I was when I first was approached.” Sewell said he has no political affiliation and hosted the event to bring together community leaders. “I don’t worship a donkey or elephant,” he said. “I worship the lamb of God slain for the sins of the world and anybody who can come to his house, and be prayed over.”
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