* From The Hill…

Donald Trump’s former campaign manager on Monday night defended the Republican presidential nominee’s pitch to black voters in a heated debate on CNN.

Corey Lewandowski explained on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ why he was all right with Trump delivering his pitch to black voters while speaking to predominantly white crowds in places like Wisconsin.

“As a campaign manager, wouldn’t you want your candidate saying some of these things directly to the people he’s supposedly addressing?” Anderson Cooper asked.
“You know what’s amazing to me, is no one remembers Donald Trump went to go have a rally in Chicago at the university,” responded Lewandoski.

“And do you remember what happened? It was so chaotic, and it was so out of control, Secret Service and the Chicago Police Department told him you could not get in and out of that facility safely, and that rally was canceled. And you showed the footage many times of the individuals who attended that rally. Donald Trump had that rally booked,” Lewandowski said.

“That is a black community. He went to the heart of Chicago to go and give a speech to the University of Chicago in a campus, which is predominantly African-American, to make that argument. And you know what happened? The campus was overrun, and it was not a safe environment,” he said.

* OK, first of all, the rally was at the University of Illinois at Chicago, not the U of C. From the university’s Wikipedia page…

* UIC is on the city’s Near West Side…

…Adding… As noted in comments, the CPD denies ever telling Trump to cancel the event…

Interim Supt John Escalante confirmed in a press conference that police became aware the event was being cancelled at 6:30pm, adding: “The Chicago Police Department had no role, we were not consulted or provided an opinion as to whether or not the event should be cancelled.

“In fact we did assure the Trump campaign that we had more than adequate resources outside the UIC pavilion and we guaranteed them we could provide save access and exit for Mr Trump.

       

50 Comments - Sir Reel - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:21 am: Details, details. The Trump campaign doesn’t let facts get in the way. - illini - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:22 am: Why would anyone ever let the facts get in the way of what they see as being a compelling and “believable” statement ?????? - Dee Lay - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:22 am: I still can’t believe CNN is paying Lewandowski to shill for Trump every night. - Anon221 - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:25 am: Oh Corey, Corey, Corey… it would have been “safer” to have just gone and “honored” Rauner that night./s http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160311/NEWS07/160319954/donald-trump-rally-in-chicago-canceled-after-protests-violence - Big Joe - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:25 am: Facts? Why bother with actual facts? Trump is going to make America great again./s - Biker - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:25 am: I’m very proud of those students and other Chicagoans for basically ending Trumps Presidential ambitions in one night. Sure he went on to win the Republican nod, but that night it was forcefully made very clear that Trump would not be President. - not kidding - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:28 am: Corey, and all Trump supporters, thinks more than 5 black people in a room is a majority black audience. And, therefore, it’s a dangerous environment. - frustrated GOP - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:29 am: To someone from New Hampshire that a lot of non-white people. So for the safety of all people Trump will only talk about blacks and hispanics in front of white people. In Safe places like Utah, New Hampshire Western PA. - Last Bull Moose - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:34 am: I dismiss statements from the Trump campaign as just white noise. - Blue dog dem - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:38 am: The Donald is only changing his tone to secure the votes of white urban Republican women who may of been thinking of staying home on election day. - Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:41 am: It’s one thing to have a Trump shill on the air, it’s another to pay one for “analysis” who is literally still on the payroll of the Trump campaign. - Fred - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:44 am: The guy who is going to get 95% of the Black vote in 2020 is currently running in 4th place among African-Americans. (perhaps because they only polled on 4 candidates.) http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-is-in-fourth-place-among-black-voters/ No danger of becoming the old white peoples party here. /S/ - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:47 am: They rented the UIC Pavilion. They invited Trump supporters, not students, not people from the neighborhood. It wasn’t a focus group, it was supposed to be a rally. - Keyser Soze - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:49 am: Did anyone tabulate the demographics of the mob that shut down the rally? - Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:51 am: 1) I thought the CPD denied telling Trumpies to shut down the rally. 2) Facts have no relationship to what comes out of Trump or his shills’ mouths. - Lovie - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:56 am: Stupid is, stupid does. I was watching live when that idiot said that. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. How can someone getting paid somewhere in the six figures by CNN be saying stuff without fact-checking. CNN is to blame for this. - Archiesmom - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:59 am: Trump isn’t talking to African-Americans or any other minority. Trump is trying to tell white undecided, moderates, independents and weak Clinton supporters that he isn’t a racist. Good luck. - Archiesmom - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 12:00 pm: = I still can’t believe CNN is paying Lewandowski to shill for Trump every night. = When Trump is still paying him $20K a month, apparently. CNN is pathetic. - Belle - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 12:07 pm: There is an article in The Trib entitled “Trump Suggests Chicago could solve problems in a week if Cops got Tougher”…isn’t that how we got to Black Lives Matter and some other issues? Trump has no concept of details or that the matter. Details are for the little folks to handle. - Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 12:11 pm: === Stupid is, stupid does. I was watching live when that idiot said that. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. === It frustrates me when the CNN moderators don’t call out the shills on their lies. Lewandowski had used that lie before as a means to deflect the criticism of Trump’s black outreach always occurring at rallies in white area. Besides the debunking facts that Rich mentions above, the rally was not billed as a opportunity of talking about black outreach. Remembering the photos, the crowd in the venue was overwhelming white. To play off a Judge Judy line, you can always tell it’s a lie when Trump or a Trump shill opens their mouth. - cpowell44 - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 12:13 pm: What happened to CNN? Why would they hire this person? - Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 12:19 pm: === What happened to CNN? Why would they hire this person? === Cable news (excluding the wingnut propaganda network) tries to appear “fair and balanced” by bringing in shills from both sides and then letting them shriek at each other. Looks like the GOP debates magnified. The winner is the rudest shill in the group who argues over everyone. The losers are the truth and the public. - Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 12:28 pm: Lewandowski or Stone the two most frequent Trump defenders ( because so few want to be identified as such) are usually outnumbered 8-1 on CNN by Hillary defenders. He makes a good point about the impossibility of a direct appeal to a room full of a majority of minority voters. That would of happen. I am far more interested in listening to Hillary’s pitch to minority voters about crime and the economy. By every metric, income, unemployment, crime etc. this group is suffering more than ever. - One to the Dome - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 12:36 pm: According to Trump, he also spoke to a “high ranking” police person on the CPD who said if he was allowed to “get tough” it would only take One Week to fix our crime problems. - FPJ - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 1:01 pm: @Norseman: I can’t recall the details at the moment, but I heard an interesting segment on _On the Media_ recently that agrees with you. Present website excluded, the journalistic standard has shifted from reporting facts and the truth (think Watergate reporting, etc.) to providing a “balanced perspective” where “each side” (since there always only two) is entitled to their own “truth.” - FPJ - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 1:07 pm: Also, when you add to this false objectivity the Baudrillardian concept that once something is put out into the echo chamber that is the 24 hour news cycle, it is always plausibly true, even if facts later show it to be false. - Happily Retired - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 1:13 pm: Another example of a “pants on fire” moment from a Trump shill. - DGD - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 1:31 pm: And Miller proves me correct by deleting my post… - Blue dog dem - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 1:55 pm: Norseman. Kinda reminds me of when HRC’s lips are moving. - A guy - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 2:07 pm: A lot of people get those two schools mixed up. You could see that during the whole Obama Library sweepstakes. But still, neither could be described as a AA university. Memories do get short around election time. The biggest disruptions that night came from the Bernie supporters. It would be hard to find a venue for him to address AA voters directly. And that really is too bad. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 2:10 pm: ===It would be hard to find a venue for him to address AA voters directly=== Why? Operation PUSH has a decent hall. James Meeks’ church is as big as the United Center. Then, there’s the United Center. Or the UIC Pavilion again. That’s a cop-out. - Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 2:16 pm: Blue Dog, she’s a politician so of course she lies. But she is a lying lightweight when compared to Trump. Last fact check review I saw had him at lying 71% of the time. Google it. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 2:31 pm: –By every metric, income, unemployment, crime etc. this group is suffering more than ever. – Please provide the links to the research that backs your assertions. - Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 2:45 pm: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/why-is-the-black-unemployment-rate-so-high/372667/ http://chicagoreporter.com/chicagos-black-unemployment-rate-higher-other-large-metro-areas/ I saw someone asked Speaker Madigan about these grim statistics for minority Illinois residents. He gave the same canned answer he always gives about how the citizens of Illinois are very smart and they are able to see which party is on their side. - AlfondoGonz - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 2:56 pm: Lucky Pierre “By every metric, income, unemployment, crime etc. this group is suffering more than ever.” This is about as true as Rudy Guiliani’s claim that no radical Islamic attacks occurred before President Obama took office. - Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 2:59 pm: Ok tell me how great things are in the poorest sections of Chicago or other major cities. I am sure you have some statistics that say unemployment, incomes and crime are all heading in the right direction. For sure that is not happening in Chicago - A guy - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 3:12 pm: ===That’s a cop-out.=== If PUSH invited him, or James Meeks, I think he would look at that. They can and do manage their crowds pretty well. He’s been in plenty of large arenas like the UC around the country. I wouldn’t think of that as a primarily AA crowd that attends events like a rally there. When I think of politicos who are not AA who have gone into the communities and really excelled, I think of Bobby Kennedy, Bill Clinton and a few (very few) others. Rauner did speak in Meeks church, but they had a long standing relationship. I just don’t see this happening without an invitation. And I don’t see an invitation. At least not in Chicago. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 3:27 pm: –“By every metric, income, unemployment, crime etc. this group is suffering more than ever.”– “Ever” covers “forever,” does it not? - A guy - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 3:28 pm: One of the greatest political rallies ever was at the UIC the night Harold Washington officially announced his run for mayor. It was cold. It snowed like crazy. The crowd was late (as was Harold predictably). But they kept coming and coming and coming until it was SRO and the electricity in the place was unreal. That’s the night the AA community in Chicago knew for a fact that they had a winner. And they made him one. All started at the UIC Pavilion. - Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 3:39 pm: A guy, a great shill-worthy pivot! - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 4:03 pm: –One of the greatest political rallies ever was at the UIC the night Harold Washington officially announced his run for mayor– That was a rally two weeks before the Feb. 22 primary. Washington officially announced for mayor at the Hyde Park Hilton, a week after the November ‘82 general election. - steve schnorf - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 4:14 pm: DGD, I really doubt that “correct” is what Rich proves about you by deleting your post - A guy - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 4:14 pm: ==That was a rally two weeks before the Feb. 22 primary.== That’s the night it became very real. Norse, I guess thanks is in order. But, I’m in general disagreement with the great one here about how easy it would be for Trump to make a speech where he was with a primarily AA crowd. I’m really trying to think of a Republican who could pull it off. No one coming to mind. - Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 4:24 pm: A guy, he’s got a black minister frequently shilling for him. Seems like his church would be a no-brainer, even for the Trumpies. It’s not as if he has to fill a football stadium with blacks. - A guy - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 4:31 pm: C’mon Norse. Would you attempt this right now in Chicago or last week in Milwaukee? He’d need an invitation from someone who could manage a crowd and prevent any violent outbreaks. It says as much about the conduct of political protesters as anything else. Hey, I wish he’d do it. Just don’t see how it happens in Chicago. - Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 4:48 pm: A guy, I told you where I’d put it. Now don’t start believing the spin of your own shills. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 5:00 pm: –Would you attempt this right now in Chicago or last week in Milwaukee? He’d need an invitation from someone who could manage a crowd and prevent any violent outbreaks. It says as much about the conduct of political protesters as anything else.– “The safest place in the world to be is a Trump rally.” Donald Trump. Video from Trump rallies. Not suitable for work, contains vulgarities, profanity and racial and ethnic slurs. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/us/politics/donald-trump-supporters.html - Dr X - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 6:11 pm: Fantastic argument “We’d tell blacks how to act, but when we try, they get mad.” - JoanP - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 10:07 pm: Trump has had numerous invitations to speak to African-American organizations, including the NAACP. He has turned them all down. He has no excuse for this. None. - DGD - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 11:41 pm: Schnorf the know-it-all chimes in (again) on something he knows nothing about. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.