Mollie Bryant

The Clarion-Ledger

Even while being criticized as a polarizing figure for the party, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is a man who knows his audience, a group disenchanted at best and furious at worst with the status quo.

During a rally at Madison Central High School Monday evening, Trump drew cheers from the crowd when he mentioned his plan for a wall between the United States and Mexico, support for the Second Amendment and putting a halt to the “chipping away” of Christianity.

(Watch Trump's speech at end of story)

Trump’s presidential run has been marked by the ability to say what his supporters want to hear, but in an interview with The Clarion-Ledger, he said that comments he has made on the campaign trail have not been for entertainment value.

“No, I don’t think so. … We have a very serious situation,” he said. “We have a country that’s in deep trouble. We’re losing our jobs. We’re losing our manufacturing. We can’t beat ISIS. We can’t do anything. … And I tell people, you know, we don’t have a good subject, because there’s so many problems in our country, but we’re going to try to have some fun.”

Trump has recently drawn the criticism of former presidential nominees Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney, who called the candidate “a fraud” and “a phony.”

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“Mitt’s a loser,” Trump said. “Mitt’s a guy who failed miserably with his campaign. He should have won that election very easily and he didn’t. Now he’s, in certain ways, down and out. … And I think a lot of people say it helped me instead of hurt me, because he shouldn’t have done a thing like that. He just wanted to be relevant again, but Mitt failed so badly.”

Concerns over job growth have drawn support to Trump, and during the rally, Trump briefly discussed incentives, and perhaps a tax penalty, for companies like Apple, which manufactures overseas.

“Some of my friends say it’s terrible what’s happening to Mississippi, because of all of the jobs that are being lost,” he told The Clarion-Ledger. “It’s a big outflow, and we’re going to bring them back, believe me. If I win, if I become president, we’re bringing our jobs back, and I won’t be forgetting Mississippi.”

However, in a state like Mississippi where about 40 percent of residents are African-American, it’s unclear what he is doing to appeal to minority voters. His rallies, like the one in Madison, seem to have predominantly white crowds.

When asked if he supports the Black Lives Matter movement and what Trump is doing to earn the support of African-American voters, he said: “I’ve had a great relationship with African-Americans. I’ve employed many, many over the years — thousands. They’re great workers, great people. They have had such a tremendous relationship with me.”

Some voters share with pundits and political mainstays an uncertainty of how to react to Trump.

“I want to support him, but he scares me at the same time,” Madison resident Buck Smith said. “It’s an odd scenario. Just like with any other politician — they all lie. The way I look at it, he’ll either be a fantastic president or he’ll be terrible, but it can’t be worse than what we have now.”

Mississippi State University senior Cade Moody still hasn’t made up his mind but doubts that GOP candidate Ted Cruz could defeat Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton.

“I think Trump is the most electable because of the crowd he draws, but I’m still on the fence a little bit. The demeanor and whatnot is a little harsh.”

Similarly, Hayley Hathcock, a senior at Madison Central who will be able to vote for the first time in the November election, is still getting her bearings.

“I think he should talk about why he should appeal to youth,” she said. “Something more so than what he’s been doing — the excessiveness, the rudeness, everything.”

Others, like Doris Campbell of Yazoo County, aren’t put off by Trump’s behavior. Campbell, as supporters consistently say, likes that Trump “says what he thinks.”

“I live in Mississippi,” she said. “It’s full of rednecks. Trump is classy next to that.”

Contact Mollie Bryant at (601)-961-7251 or mbryant2@gannett.com. Follow @MollieEBryant on Twitter.