“We need to stop identity politics,” Detroit-based Pastor Lorenzo Sewell said Wednesday after Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“I think it would be great, I think it would be fantastic, to have the first black woman president,” said Sewell, pastor of 180 Church on Detroit’s west side. He told ABC7.
“But we also have to stop the identity politics,” he added.
The pastor, who spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last week, added: “There is no one more powerful in America than a black woman, so I understand the loyalty that black women have, but it can be misguided. I got a call this afternoon saying, ‘Vote for Kamala Harris because she’s black.’ That doesn’t resonate with me, does it?”
Lorenzo Sewell, pastor of Church 180, spoke at the Republican National Convention last week. (Getty Images)
Harris breaks fundraising record since Biden dropped out of 2024 presidential race
ABC 7 also reported that Sewell said he had not publicly endorsed any candidate in the 2024 presidential election and had no intention of “fronting the Trump campaign.”
In addition to speaking at the Republican National Convention last week, Sewell hosted former President Trump at his church in June.
“If President Trump had moved an inch, we wouldn’t be here tonight hearing how he’s going to Make America Great Again,” Sewell said at the Republican National Convention.
Sewell added that the black community is “hurting” under Democratic leadership.
“If you look at our community, you can clearly see that our community is being hurt, and that’s been happening under Democratic leadership,” Sewell said.
“I’m not saying Democrats have done anything wrong for the last 60 years. What I’m saying is, if you look at our communities, particularly Detroit, Pontiac, Flint, Saginaw, we’re suffering. And Republicans are saying, ‘We want to have a conversation.'”
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
Additionally, Sewell said more black men are shifting their support to the Republican Party.
ABC’s local affiliate also interviewed black voters about their thoughts on Trump.
“It seems like Trump is trying to help us,” said Tayson Stewart, 27.
“… He seems to know what he’s talking about,” said Stewart, who lives in Detroit.
“Black voters are asleep. They’re following Biden so they’ll vote for Kamala, but they’re not. Trump is really trying to help us, that’s my view.”
“It would be scary if that guy was in there,” Leon Crosby, 57, of Detroit, said of Trump.
“As an African-American, I would be terrified,” Crosby added.
Read Fox News’ latest report that Harris will replace Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee here
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at West Allis Central High School in West Allis, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2024. Harris has received President Biden’s endorsement, making her first campaign appearance as the party’s presidential candidate. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) (Jim Vondruska/Correspondent)
Trump, who was formally nominated as the Republican Party’s nominee for 2024 presidential election at last week’s Republican National Convention, has the support of 46% of registered voters in an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released Tuesday.
Harris announced on Monday night that she had secured the party’s nomination with the backing of a majority of the roughly 4,000 delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention, but her approval rating was 45%.
The poll was conducted on Monday President BidenHe announced that he was ending his rematch against President Trump for reelection in 2024.
Sewell’s comments come as Harris faces intense scrutiny over her fitness to be commander in chief.
Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett on Monday called Harris a “DEI hire.” Interview with CNNThey suggest that Harris was chosen as vice president solely because she is a black woman.
“She’s a 100% DEI hire,” Burchett told CNN’s Manu Raju, who added that “her track record is abysmal at best.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
But some Republicans are urging the Trump campaign to continue criticizing Harris’ policy positions.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
