It’s time for Jeff Sessions to move on
In the last several weeks the public jabs back and forth between Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Donald Trump heated up to what can only be described as an unmitigated disaster. It was like watching a scene from Mean Girls as first Trump tweeted about Sessions and Sessions responded with an official statement and now just yesterday it was reported Trump was criticizing Sessions accent and educational background. Enough already! Stop the madness. While I know this opinion will be unfavorable, especially here in Sweet Home Alabama I feel like I need to join the chorus of folks saying – it is time for Sessions to step down from his role. It does no one any good for him to be there under these circumstances and knowing Trump’s temperament it’s not a matter of if but when Sessions finds himself on the receiving end of a tweet informing him that his tenure in the administration is over. Session’s presence in the administration has become a distraction from the important work the Department of Justice is and needs to be doing. The president’s cabinet and our federal government needs to function in a fluid fashion and our leaders need to have, or at least be able to show respect for one another, if not for the offices that each of them hold. I wrote about Sessions recusing himself from the Russia investigation very early on when it occurred, agreeing with Trump that Sessions shouldn’t have done so. That said I’m a big fan of Session’s and the service he’s given to our state and our nation. While I disagree with him on some issues (like civil forfeiture) he’s proven throughout his career that he loves our nation and justice. So while it’s shame, it is abundantly clear that it’s time for the Department of Justice to have a clean slate. It’s time for grown men to act like grown men. It’s time for the Sessions to realize he’s no longer just the guest who’s worn out his welcome he’s making the party uncomfortable for everyone. If he were to sooner rather than later before things get any uglier, he could absolutely chase away the 50 of so people with their names being thrown around to run and beat Sen. Doug Jones in 2020 to take the U.S. Senate seat he vacated to become AG (should he have any interest in that which is doubtful to say the least). He could clearly also have a very lucrative private sector or job in higher education. His possibilities are endless but they all start with the same thing, he has to be willing to see that the price of this ongoing public feud is too high and it’s time to go. He must do all he can to protect and maintain not just his own reputation but that of the agency he’s been entrusted to run. Now, I don’t kid myself that the confirmation of a new attorney general would be an easy feat but we need someone in there that can be more effective and less divisive. We need to start sooner rather than later getting ready for that fight.
Dr. Quinton Ross inaugurated as ASU’s 15th president
Dr. Quinton Ross has been officially inaugurated as the 15th president of Alabama State University (ASU). Ross was inaugurated Thursday following the Alabama State University Board of Trustees Sept. 2017 decision, which named him as president as a replacement for Gwendolyn Boyd whom the Board fired in December for “failure to maintain the confidence of the board.” He is a graduate of ASU, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science in 1992, a Master of Arts degree in Education in 1995 and a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership, Policy and Law in 2010. Prior to becoming President of his alma mater, he had begun his fourth term in the Alabama State Senate after having been elected to his first term in 2002. While serving in the Senate, Ross distinguished himself as a true statesman and was one of seven African Americans serving in the Alabama State Senate. In 2015, he was elected as the first African American male Senate Minority Leader and the first Minority Leader elected to a four-year term. During his service, Ross was an established legislative leader and an advocate for public education, issues dealing with child safety and the general welfare of all Alabamians. Throughout his legislative tenure, Ross served on numerous committees, including Bank and Insurance, Confirmation, County and Municipal Government, Transportation and Energy, Military Affairs and the powerful Finance and Taxation Education Committee. He also was Vice-Chair of the Education Youth Affairs Committee. Born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised in Pontiac, Mich., Ross has been a resident of Montgomery, Ala. for more than two decades. “I’m thrilled to join the entire Alabama State University family as they induct Dr. Quinton T. Ross Jr. as the 15th president of ASU,” said Alabama 7th District U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, who attended the inauguration. “Today, ASU begins writing a new chapter in its rich and deep-rooted history by welcoming Dr. Ross. His passion for education and his desire to strengthen and grow this amazing university are undeniable, and I am certain his positive leadership will create a lasting legacy at ASU for generations to come. Congratulations to Dr. Ross and to the ASU community as they set out together to grow and strengthen this historic university.”
Alabama Farmers Federation calls Trump’s farm bailout ‘a step forward’
The Alabama Farmers Federation’s (ALFA) is calling President Donald Trump‘s farm bailout “a step forward” for farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday announced the plan to distribute $6.3 billion as a bailout to assist U.S. farmers whose markets have been disrupted through trade retaliations as a result of President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations. “Although we’re hopeful trade negotiations will end with better conditions for farmers, this package is a step forward in helping farmers deal with current uncertain markets,” said Mitt Walker, the Federation’s National Legislative Programs director. At $1.65 per bushel, soybean farmers are slated to receive $3.6 billion of the $4.7 billion in total direct payments through the Market Facilitation Program (MFP). Pork farmers will receive $290 million total, at $8 a head. Farmers can apply after harvest is complete and total 2018 production can be reported. The rate depends on the severity of trade disruption and period of adjustment to new trade patterns. Applications are available Sept. 4 and the first round of payments will be based on 50 percent of a farmer’s 2018 production. If a second payment is approved for the remaining 50 percent of production, the amount will be determined by USDA. Remaining commodities and initial payment rates are Cotton: 6 cents per pound Corn: 1 cent per bushel Milk: 12 cents per hundredweight Sorghum: 86 cents per bushel Wheat: 14 cents per bushel MFP payments are capped per person or legal entity at a combined $125,000 for corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans and wheat. Meanwhile MFP payments for dairy or hogs are capped at a combined $125,000. The Food Purchase and Distribution Program will purchase up to $1.2 billion in commodities targeted by retaliation. USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will distribute products to through the Emergency Food Assistance Program and child nutrition programs. Commodities and target payments include: Beef: $14.8 million Dairy: $84.9 million Pecans: $16 million Pork: $558.8 million USDA will also devote $200 million to developing foreign markets for U.S. crops, through advertising, public relations, participation in trade fairs and market research. Applications for the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program are due Nov. 2.
Donald Trump on Jeff Sessions: he ‘talks like he has marbles in his mouth’
After a week of throwing barbs at one another, President Donald Trump took a low blow and criticized Jeff Sessions Thursday on his southern accent, and lack of Ivy League schooling. According to reports from POLITICO, Trump told aides and lawmakers on Wednesday Sessions doesn’t have the “Ivy League pedigree” he prefers, “that he can’t stand his Southern accent and that Sessions isn’t a capable defender of the president on television — in part because he “talks like he has marbles in his mouth.” This is only the latest in a series of insults Trump has hurled at Sessions in the last 10 days, while contemplating firing him. Last week, Trump fired several barbs at Sessions, telling Fox news channel’s “Fox & Friends” that Sessions “took the job and then he said, ‘I’m going to recuse myself.” “[He] never took control of the Justice Department and it’s a sort of an incredible thing,” Trump continued. Sessions then fired back at the president, saying that the DOJ would not be “improperly influenced by political considerations.” Two White House aides said “Trump’s latest push against Sessions was fueled by last week’s conviction of Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen and former campaign manager Paul Manafort,” AL.com reported. Trump has reportedly been discussing firing Sessions for months, airing his frustration with Republican members of the House and Senate, according to CNN. But Sessions isn’t only losing the President’s trust. His former colleagues and evangelical leaders, who once held him in high esteem, are also questioning whether or not he should stay in the AG post. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told Bloomberg last Thursday that, “The president’s entitled to an attorney general he has faith in, somebody that’s qualified for the job, and I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice.” And on Monday, one of the top conservative evangelical leaders in the nation, Jerry Falwell Jr. urged Trump to fire sessions. “He really is not on the president’s team, never was,” Falwell told Politico. “He’s wanted to be attorney general for many, many years. I have a feeling he took a gamble and supported the president because he knew he would reward loyalty.”
Birmingham reports $10 million budget surplus for 2018
A combination of increased revenues and decreased expenses has the city of Birmingham, Ala. with a $10 million surplus in fiscal year 2018. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced the news during Wednesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting explaining the city saw a 5 percent growth in revenue over the previous fiscal year and was also able to reduce spending. “Spending was down due to our diligent work with departments to manage budgets efficiently and effectively based on need rather than want,” the mayor said. “The more than $10 million surplus represents our core values of efficiency, effectiveness and accountability,” he added. “We want to be transparent with you about the funds available and our intentions for those funds.” What will the city do with the money go? Woodfin says 20 percent of the $10 million must go to savings, per the City Council-passed Fund Balance Policy, which leaves $7.5 million to use elsewhere: $4 million: has been proposed to go to the Neighborhood Revitalization Fund for street resurfacing and sidewalk and pothole repair. That breaks down to approximately 250 road patches; three miles (or 15,000 feet) of sidewalk; and 12-15 miles of road paving, or about 200 blocks. $500,000: For the Deferred Maintenance Program to maintain equipment to become more responsive to resident and neighborhood needs $350,000: For the city’s Information Management Services department for tech upgrades. $600,000: To go toward the Land Bank Authority. $1.1 million: To remain the neighborhood revitalization fund. “This upgrades computer and data infrastructure citywide to modernize the city and improve code enforcement,” Woodfin said. “This represents our absolute priority of serving the needs and revitalization of our 99 neighborhoods.”
Parker Snider: Prepare to vote on constitutional amendments, Alabama
The drought, as they say, is over. Football season is back in Alabama. To no one’s surprise, the Alabama Crimson Tide was ranked #1 in both the AP and Coaches preseason polls. Almost simultaneously as the return of college football, however, is the beginning of another all-too-familiar season for Alabamians. That season, of course, is election season. In this season, as in the college football season, Alabama earns a number one ranking. This ranking isn’t for being the state with the most elections, however. No, this additional #1 ranking is for our massive state constitution, the longest constitution in America and, perhaps, the world. Our constitution is well over 300,000 words–that’s forty times longer than the U.S. Constitution. The only governing document that rivals the size of Alabama’s is that of India, although it is still less than half as lengthy. Our constitution’s depth, it seems, is due to the 928 amendments that have been added since the constitution’s inception in 1901. Although some amendments are substantive and generally applicable to the entire state, a large portion of the amendments only deal with a singular county. This is because the Constitutional Convention of 1901, in an effort to regain control of the state after Reconstruction, concentrated power so heavily in Montgomery that many local decisions were, and still are, not legally permitted without an explicit change in the constitution, e.g. a constitutional amendment. This means that anytime a county wants to, for example, levy a minor tax, institute local term limits, or create a toll road, a constitutional amendment is required. In November, Alabamians will have the opportunity to make the state constitution even longer. This year, residents will vote on four statewide constitutional amendments, a relatively small number in light of the fourteen voted on in 2016. Included on the ballot will be constitutional amendments concerning the public display of the Ten Commandments, abortion, the University of Alabama’s Board of Trustees, and special elections for legislative vacancies. Although it is easy to treat constitutional amendments as an afterthought (they are, in fact, at the end of the ballot), it is important to understand the potential impact of a change to the state’s most significant document. Unfortunately, the language describing constitutional amendments on the ballot is often difficult to understand. Additionally, there is no description of the effects of a proposed amendment. This can be disheartening to voters taking their voice in the electoral process seriously while at the same time encouraging split-second decisions and absent-minded bubbling. Neither of these cases are desirable. That’s why, in the upcoming weeks, the Alabama Policy Institute will release op-eds on the constitutional amendments in easy-to-understand language, including the possible effects, or lack thereof, on the state. We will also be releasing a one-stop Guide to the Issues that will explain the amendments concisely and readably in a format that can be taken into the voting booth. Stay tuned. ••• Parker Snider is Manager of Policy Relations for the Alabama Policy Institute, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to strengthening free enterprise, defending limited government, and championing strong families.
UAB’s $37.5 million state-of-the art Collat School of Business opens
The University of Alabama at Birmingham bridges collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship with the opening of the $37.5 million state-of-the-art facility that will house the Collat School of Business and Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE). UAB’s Collat School of Business welcomed students Aug. 27. (Adam Pope/UAB/Alabama Newscenter) “This beautiful new building changes everything,” said Collat School of Business Dean Eric Jack. “This addition to UAB’s campus heralds a new era of leadership in business education that will help drive innovation at UAB and in Birmingham for many years to come.” The grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Friday, Aug. 24, at 10 a.m. at 1201 University Blvd. Students began classes for the fall semester Monday, Aug. 27. The 108,000-square-foot building was designed with input from students and community business leaders so that every detail enhances the learning experience while preparing students to work in modern business environments. The facility features breakout rooms, an innovation lab, classrooms designed for team-based learning, a high-tech finance lab, sales role-playing rooms, a three-story atrium, an auditorium, a career center and quiet study spaces. “The generous gift from Charles and his late wife, Patsy, for our new Collat School of Business has already enabled us to build on our reputation as one of the premier business schools in the nation,” said UAB President Ray Watts. “The Collats have been actively engaged with our School of Business and contributed to its success for nearly three decades, and their outstanding example of philanthropy underscores the power of partnership to advance all areas of UAB’s mission. This is a transformational moment for the Collat School of Business and our university, and we look forward to the tremendous impact this facility will have for years to come – providing exceptional opportunities for tomorrow’s business leaders and entrepreneurs and helping to grow a robust innovation-based economy for Birmingham and Alabama.” Located along the north side of University Boulevard between 12th and 13th streets south, the building will offer a modern learning environment and the technology infrastructure expected to competitively recruit the next generation of business leaders, as well as top faculty and staff dedicated to educating them. Open seating areas throughout the building promote collaboration and a sense of community, affiliation and connection to UAB while furthering innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities. “Locating the HIIE in the new Collat School of Business Building creates a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship right in the heart of campus that serves students, faculty and also the wider Birmingham innovation community,” said Kathy Nugent, Ph.D., associate vice president and executive director of the Bill L. Harbert Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “The new space supports our commitment to leveraging UAB’s powerful research engine to transfer discoveries into products that positively impact quality of life and highlights our goal to generate a pipeline of companies that promote economic development within the region.” The facility houses administrative and student function space for the Collat School of Business and HIIE, as well as the Center for Sales Leadership, the Nielsen Innovation Lab, the Healthcare Leadership Academy and the Regions Institute for Financial Education. The co-location of these cross-discipline entities will foster increased collaboration and create a bridge between undergraduate and graduate students and the marketplace. “We also want to thank our incredible business community, alumni, faculty, staff and students,” Jack said. “We would not have this incredible new learning facility without their generous support.” Gifts given by local businesses such as the Joy and Bill Harbert Foundation, Medical Properties Trust, Regions Bank and Kassouf & Co. exemplify the support of the community in furthering this project, which is the cornerstone of efforts to expand technology commercialization to attain positive impacts on economic development for the community, state and beyond. From an exterior perspective, the overall architecture of the building is in keeping with the recently completed Hill Student Center and soon-to-be completed School of Nursing, featuring a combination of traditional building materials and contemporary building elements. The building is four stories in total, with a primarily traditional brick enclosure and conventional windows on the western and eastern elevations, while the northern and southern elevations are primarily glass storefront. Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York City and Williams Blackstock Architects of Birmingham designed the building so that all 100-plus offices have a window that is exposed to natural light from the exterior of the building. This was accomplished by having full-height atriums, or light-wells, on the east and west ends of the building. The Coca-Cola UNITED Dining Alcove offers dining options for students, faculty and staff, including Jamba Juice and Sandella’s Flatbread. UAB’s student-run investment fund, the Green & Gold Fund, will be housed in the new Chad Thomas Hagwood Finance Lab. Blazer Pride Plaza, a large landscaped courtyard on the east side of the building, leads students to the main entrance of the Collat School of Business, while the main entrance to the HIIE will be on the northern side of the building. The auditorium in the basement of the building has a FEMA-rated storm shelter that can accommodate more than 200 people in the event of severe weather. Williams Blackstock and Robert A.M. Stern served as the architects of record on this project. Brasfield & Gorrie served as general contractor and self-performed all concrete work, including foundations, foundation walls and site hardscapes. Republished with the permission of the Alabama Newscenter.
Huntsville launches pilot program to provide enhanced community policing, city support
The City of Huntsville is piloting a neighborhood program designed to provide enhanced community policing and city support. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle announced the program during a press conference on Wednesday. “We’ve been looking at programs that will help to rejuvenate older neighborhoods, and this is our first step toward an innovative community partnership,” said Battle. The Neighborhood Resource Center will be in a home renovated by Habitat for Humanity — located at 3014 Sonya Drive, 35810 — and will be staffed by Huntsville police who will help to build resources around a neighborhood so that residents may be the champions of their cause. Police say they’re looking forward to working with neighbors to identify projects and programs that will enable them to shape outcomes, strengthen their community, and capitalize on the integrity and spirit of the amazing people who live in the area. “We’re not coming in to fix a neighborhood,” said Captain Jeff Rice, North Huntsville Precinct Commander. “We’re here in partnership, and the neighborhood will be taking the lead in telling us what they need and want.” While Rice will be overseeing the pilot program, another champion in this effort is District 1 Council Member Devyn Keith. He sees the home as a positive alternative center that can provide quality programming, space for neighbors to interact with public safety officials, and a place for community volunteers to positively engage with each other. “This is just another step in our ongoing effort to answer issues specific to the community we serve,” said Keith. “It is also in direct response to what homeowners have asked us to do – to provide new and innovative approaches that have shown true success across other communities. This pilot program provides a holistic approach, and it will give us an understanding about how we, as community partners, can do things better.” While the location of the first Neighborhood Resource Center is not in statistically high crime area, it has struggled to maintain its once vibrant community. “Our Code Enforcement Staff will spend time at the Center daily, and will be available to meet with residents on a variety of issues related to neighborhood stabilization and revitalization,” explained Michelle Jordan, Director of Planning and Community Development. “We will also work with the residents to provide services that they feel are important in order to better serve this incredible community.” If successful, at the end of one year, the City will move the program to another neighborhood as an ongoing tool for community empowerment and connection. In turn, Habitat for Humanity will return the Sonya Drive home to its inventory of affordable housing for sale. “Habitat’s mission is based on the philosophy of being a hand up, not a hand out, and Habitat partner families work hard to realize their dream of homeownership,” said Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity Madison County Executive Myra Sanderson. “But the house is only part of this dream. Being a responsible and good neighbor is vital to building a strong neighborhood. We are excited that engaged families who want to be active involved citizens are part of this pilot program.” The City will take over the Sonya Drive home on September 1 to start furnishing and staffing the residence. Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray and Capt. Rice plan to go door-to-door to visit neighbors and introduce them to the initiative. In addition to Sonya Drive, the Neighborhood Resource Center will be serving residents on Melrose Drive, Deerfield Drive, Valley Park Drive, Pueblo Drive, Colfax Drive, Teton Drive and Teton Circle.
Fairhope asks AG’s office for clarification on new form of government
The city of Fairhope, Ala. has already set October 2 as the date for a special election to allow voters to decide whether or not they will change the city’s form of government. Now, the mayor and City Council members are looking to the Alabama Attorney General’s office for clarification on how the new system would play out. After a months-long battle between Fairhope Mayor Karin Wilson, and a non-profit group, Fresh Start Fairhope the group garnered enough signatures to call for a special election; allowing Fairhope citizens to vote on whether or not they want to change the city’s current form of government. The new form of government being proposed would create a new governing body known as the “Council of the City of Fairhope,” which would have the same executive powers and duties of the council, but would make the mayor a member of the council, not an executive over it. Meaning the mayor would no longer preside over all city employees, or the council. Instead the mayor would be in charge of ceremonial events, and serve as a representative of the city. The council and the mayor are now seeking an opinion from the Attorney General’s office on how the new council members would be elected if the vote passes in October. According to meeting minutes from the August 13 Fairhope City Council meeting, the council voted to ask the AG’s office: “Does the petition process contained in the Council-Manager Act of 1982…permit the adoption of the council-manager form of government by petition to consist of council members elected at large as the legislature provided for in Section 11-42A-1.1 or does the petition process only to provide, pursuant to Section 11-43A-8(a) for election of council members in single member districts?” “Clarifying this important distinction is a must,” Wilson told the Lagniappe Mobile. “Many who signed the petition, including me, believed they were signing for a new form of government with council districts. The vote should not take place until this is clearly communicated.” Spokesman for Fresh Start Fairhope, Chuck Zunk also weighed in on the issue: “Our reading of the law is that the law is silent on whether the City Council should make a determination on at-large or district representation before or after,” Zunk also told the Lagniappe Mobile. “We would prefer before. But we’re not the lawyers and we’re not the attorney general.”
Last week California, next up Alabama? Fight to end cash bail comes to Birmingham
A Birmingham queer liberation organization will be hosting an “Ending Money Bail Workshop” later in September, calling attention to growing national movement to end cash bail. Earlier this week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation to end cash bail in the state. “Several U.S. cities and states have in recent years reduced their reliance on bail, arguing the system unfairly confines poor people, creating overcrowded jails and extra costs for taxpayers,” the Wall Street Journal reported. Those who have been accused of crimes will instead be assessed, released on their own recognizance, given conditions for their release (GPS trackers, placed on house arrest) or held in jail. The Birmingham chapter of Southerners On New Ground (SONG) is hoping to spark the conversation here in the Yellowhammer State by hosting the “Critical Resistance: Ending Money Bail Workshop,” at the Beloved Community Church September 29th at 2:00 p.m. “Join SONG Birmingham for the first political education workshop on the End Money Bail campaign. We will learn together about how this campaign fits into a larger narrative around prison abolition,” the description of the event on Facebook reads. “We will deepen our understanding of the local bail system, and we will envision alternatives together!” “Across the South, we are building team justice to put an end to the policy and practice of Money Bail. We come from directly impacted communities – Black, Latinx, people of color, immigrant, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and trans (LGBTQ), and working class,” the description continues. “We know that people belong at home, in our neighborhoods, families, communities and not in cages.” SONG Birmingham is a local chapter of Southerners On New Ground (SONG), a southeast regional “Queer Liberation organization” with allies in the immigrant, undocumented, disabled, LGBTQ and working class communities. According to the group’s website, “SONG builds a beloved community of LGBTQ people in the South who are ready and willing to do our part to challenge oppression in order to bring about liberation for ALL people.” “We develop leadership, build our membership base, and identify and carry out community organizing projects and campaigns,” the site continues. “All of our work strives to bring together marginalized communities to work towards justice and liberation for all people.”
EPA rethinking air pollution rule for power plants
The Trump administration is considering rewriting another Obama-era rule controlling hazardous emissions from coal-fired power plants, this one on mercury and other pollutants. Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman Molly Block said Wednesday that the agency is still preparing its proposal for consideration by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and that there are few details to release. The EPA is looking at whether the 2012 rule on power plant emissions was necessary, among other issues, Block said. The Obama administration rule set limits for emissions of mercury, arsenic and other toxic air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said last year that almost all the country’s coal-fired power plants were now in compliance with the 2012 rule. Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware and Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee urged the EPA in a joint letter to keep the 2012 limits in place, saying the rules has cut mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent. The EPA announced earlier this month that it was moving to relax federal oversight of emissions from coal-fired power plants under a separate Obama-era rule from 2015. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump stands by warning of ‘violence’ if Dems win midterms
President Donald Trump urged evangelical leaders this week to get out the vote ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and warned of “violence” by opponents if they fail. Trump made the dire warning at a White House dinner Monday evening attended by dozens of conservative Christian pastors, ministers and supporters of his administration. Trump was stressing the stakes in November when he warned that, if Democrats win, they “will overturn everything that we’ve done and they’ll do it quickly and violently,” according to attendees and audio of his closed-door remarks obtained by media outlets, including The New York Times. He specifically mentioned self-described antifa, or anti-fascist groups, describing them as “violent people.” Asked Wednesday what he meant, Trump told reporters, “I just hope there won’t be violence.” “If you look at what happens … there’s a lot of unnecessary violence all over the world, but also in this country. And I don’t want to see it,” Trump said. At the dinner, Trump talked up his administration’s efforts to bolster conservative Christian causes and urged those gathered to get their “people” to vote, warning the efforts could quickly be undone. “I just ask you to go out and make sure all of your people vote,” Trump said, according to the Times. “Because if they don’t — it’s Nov. 6 — if they don’t vote we’re going to have a miserable two years and we’re going to have, frankly, a very hard period of time because then it just gets to be one election — you’re one election away from losing everything you’ve got.” Ohio Pastor Darrell Scott, an early Trump supporter who attended the dinner, said he interpreted the comments differently than the media has portrayed them. “It wasn’t any kind of dire warning,” Scott said, “… except the things that we’ve been working on as a body of voters will be reversed and overturned.” “What he was saying,” Scott continued, is that “there are some violent people … but it wasn’t that we’ve got to worry about murder on the streets and chaos and anarchy … just that the things we’ve worked for will be overturned.” Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council and another attendee, said he, too, interpreted Trump’s message as a warning not to be complacent. While Trump did make a reference to antifa, Perkins told CNN, “I don’t think anybody in the room suggested that there was going to be violence across the nation.” “I did not interpret him to say that the outcome of the election is going to lead (to) violence in the streets, and violence in the churches,” he told CNN. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
