Black Caucus Members Give Mixed Reviews on Meeting with Trump March 28, 2017

Throughout his bid for the White House, then-candidate Donald J. Trump had an annoying habit of treating all African-Americans as a homogeneous group of people living in communities mired in crime, poverty and hopelessness. When asking for Black voters’ support, almost always before a rally crowd in which there were very few people of color, he would ask, “What do you have to lose?” Members of the Congressional Black Caucus sought to answer that very question when the group had its first meeting with President Donald J. Trump on March 22. The entire caucus had been invited to the White House but CBC Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) wanted to present a businesslike front and avoid being used as a photo opportunity as many have charged was the case with the HBCU leaders who met with the president earlier this month. Therefore, despite the objections of some members, he limited participation to the executive board, which included Representatives Andre Carson (Indiana), Anthony Brown (Maryland), Brenda Lawrence (Michigan), Gwen Moore (Wisconsin), and Karen Bass (California), all Democrats. Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. James Clyburn (South Carolina) also attended the meeting.