Donald Trump's speech before an African-American church in Detroit on Saturday was a "very, very significant move" — and it is "something that more Republicans should have been doing for many years," former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said.
"It's a very smart move on Donald Trump's part," the former two-term Arkansas governor told Uma Pemmaraju on Fox News. "It was bold for him to go to a place where most people wouldn't expect he should show up.
"I have long said Republicans ought to be getting the votes of African Americans because for several decades the African-American community has been giving almost whole heartedly their votes to Democrats and the result, it's been dismal."
Trump told congregants at Great Faith Ministries International that he would help African Americans in "so many ways" — from restoring manufacturing jobs to upgrading schools — and promising that "I'm going to get things done for you."
"I fully understand that the African-American community has suffered from discrimination and that there are many wrongs that must still be made right," the nominee said. "They will be made right."
Huckabee told Fox that Trump's outreach underscored the sharp contrasts between how Republicans and Democrats view the African-American vote.
"The Democrats approach it from the standpoint of groups," he said. "If you're a woman, you're in the group of women. If you're labor you're in the group of labor unions. If you're a minority, you're in the group of minority.
"Only if the group gets better, can you get better.
"Republicans see things from a standpoint of each individual," Huckabee explained. "Each individual has freedom. Each individual has liberty and opportunity.
"You are not tied to a group. You're tied to your own aspirations and your own abilities and capacities.
"When you begin to challenge people to rise above anything around them and achieve that which they dream, that's what changes people's lives."
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