jamestown, va. Trump marks anniversary of rise of American democracy

Most black Virginia state legislators boycott event

Associated Press

JAMESTOWN, Va.

President Donald Trump marked the 400th anniversary of the rise of American democracy on Tuesday by celebrating “four incredible centuries of history, heritage and commitment to the righteous cause of American self-government.”

His speech in historic Jamestown played out against a backdrop of tension over his recent disparaging remarks about minority members of Congress and was boycotted by black Virginia state legislators.

In his speech, Trump noted that 1619 also was the year the first enslaved Africans arrived in the colonies, saying, “We remember every sacred soul who suffered the horrors of slavery and the anguish of bondage.”

Trump said the United States has had many achievements in its history, but “none exceeds the triumph that we are here to celebrate today.”

“Self-government in Virginia did not just give us a state we love – in a very true sense it gave us the country we love, the United States of America,” he said.

Against the backdrop of Trump’s policy of detaining migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, he was briefly interrupted by a Muslim state lawmaker, Del. Ibraheem Samirah.

Samirah, a Democrat, stood and held laminated signs that said “Deport Hate,” “Reunite My Family” and “Go Back to Your Corrupted Home.”

Samirah later told The Associated Press in an interview that he wanted to protest Trump’s policies and rhetoric.

The audience chanted “Trump!” “Trump!” “Trump!” as Samirah was led out of the speech site, a tent on the lawn of a history museum near the site of the original Jamestown colony.

Republican House Speaker Kirk Cox said Samirah’s protest was “inconsistent with common decency and a violation of the rules of the House.”

As he departed the White House, Trump said the black Virginia legislators who announced a boycott of the event were going “against their own people.”

The Republican president claimed African-Americans “love the job” he’s doing and are “happy as hell” with his recent comments criticizing a majority-black Baltimore-area district and its black Democratic congressman, Rep. Elijah Cummings.

Trump’s attacks on Cummings closely followed the president’s attacks on four progressive Democratic female members of Congress.

African-Americans continue to be overwhelmingly negative in their assessments of the president’s performance.

According to Gallup polling, approval among black Americans has hovered around 1 in 10 over the course of Trump’s presidency, with 8 percent approving in June.

A last-minute announcement that the president would participate in the Jamestown commemoration of the first representative assembly in the Western Hemisphere injected tension into an event years in the making.

During an emotional ceremony at a Richmond site where a notorious slave jail once stood, members of Virginia’s legislative black caucus took turns criticizing Trump as he spoke about 60 miles away.

The boycott followed days of comments by Trump beginning Saturday that referred to Cummings’ district as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”