Ja'Ron Smith, deputy assistant to the president, testified to President Trump's commitment to Black communities at the Republican National Convention Thursday, saying: "I have seen his true conscience."
Why it matters: Smith is the highest-ranking Black official in the White House. Trump has taken to calling him "my star" in meetings, according to a New York Times profile.
What he's saying: "Growing up, I’d never really known a Republican—I believed all the stereotypes. It took meeting Republicans who shared my values to show me I was wrong," Smith said.
- "Donald Trump knows that in the work of revitalizing communities, America’s strength is America’s people. And I can tell you—he really cares. But, more importantly, he takes action."
- "Every issue important to Black communities has been a priority for him: prison reform, re-building broken families, bringing jobs back to America—jobs in Cleveland, jobs in Detroit, jobs in Milwaukee. Jobs for the future and jobs right here, right now."
- "And, in the wake of the murder of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and LeGend Taliferro—a moment of national racial consciousness—I have seen his true conscience. I just wish every American could see the deep empathy he showed to families whose loved ones were killed in senseless violence."
The bottom line: "For a New Yorker, he's got a lot of Cleveland heart," Smith, who was raised in Cleveland, concluded. "And I'm proud to say that he's my president."