Trump: If I were black, I’d be mad at Barack Obama

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said Friday that if he were black, he’d be miffed with President Barack Obama.

“People don’t know I’m a unifier. ... If I were African-American, I would be so angry at him,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Myrtle Beach, S.C. with an audience of more than 5,000.

The real-estate mogul said the unemployment rate among African-American youth under Obama’s tenure was so high “you wouldn’t believe it.”

As he has done before, Trump vowed to do more for the African-American community than Obama:

“I will do more for the African-American people than Barack Obama has ever done. I will do more in one year! I will do more for the African-American people in one year than Barack Obama has done in his seven years, soon to be eight years, and then by the way he’s out, and thank goodness, OK? ... I’m going to do great with them because they get it. They’re smart. They know jobs are going to come, and I’m bringing the jobs back.”

Supporters who introduced him took subtle shots at Pope Francis Friday for his remarks Thursday that a person who advocates building walls is “not Christian.”

Pastor Mark Burns told the audience that the country needs a president who will build a wall. “We respect and honor the pope,” Burns said. “But… the walls that are around the Vatican are pretty big walls.”

YouTubers Diamond and Silk also referenced the pope’s comments in their introduction.

The sister who goes by Diamond said: “Now some say that we should build a bridge. Well, I say we should build a wall around that bridge with a door open. To come in this country, you come in legally. Silent majority, let me hear you roar!”

A spokesman for Pope Francis insisted Friday the pontiff was “in no way” launching an attack on Donald Trump, a U.S. presidential candidate, nor was he trying to sway voters by declaring someone who advocates building walls isn’t Christian.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, in an interview on Vatican Radio, stressed that Francis often speaks about building bridges, not walls, and that his remark on Thursday wasn’t “a personal attack” on the business mogul.

Trump appeared pleased with the comments, referencing them at a campaign rally Friday.

“Yesterday, the pope was great,” Trump told the audience. “He made a beautiful statement this morning. They had him convinced that illegal immigration was, like, a wonderful thing. Not wonderful for us. It’s wonderful for Mexico.”

Flying back to Rome from a pilgrimage that included Mass at the Mexican side of the border with the United States, Francis, answering a reporter’s question, had said that a person who advocates building walls is “not Christian.”

Trump, who has repeatedly called for a wall to divide the U.S. and Mexico while campaigning for November’s election, quickly retorted it was “disgraceful” to question a person’s faith.

Some European countries have erected fences or raised the possibility of building fences and other barriers on their borders after hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers reached the continent by sea and land, fleeing war or poverty.

“The pope said clearly that he wasn’t stepping into voting issues in the electoral campaign in the United States,” Lombardi added. He said the pope was also “giving the benefit of the doubt” on what Trump had said.

Trump alluded to this context as he softened his rhetoric about the pope, saying at a town hall event on CNN that he believes Francis’ remarks were “probably a little bit nicer” than first reported.

Associated Press writers Frances D’Emilio and Jill Colvin contributed to this report from Vatican City and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Trump: If I were black, I’d be mad at Barack Obama."