Darrell C. Scott is an American pastor, radio station owner/host, and a former advisor to Donald Trump. Scott is a co-founder of the New Spirit Revival Center in

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs. The city's population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. As of the 2010 census, Cleveland Heights was ranked the 8th largest ...

. He co-founded, along with Michael D. Cohen, the

National Diversity Coalition for Trump The National Diversity Coalition for Trump (NDCTRUMP) was formed in April 2016 to provide support specifically from ethnic minorities for presidential candidate Donald Trump. History The idea for the group arose after a contentious meeting that ...

Early life

Scott became a

born again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

Christian in his 20s after a neighbor urged Scott and his wife to attend church. In 2004, St. Thomas Christian College in Jacksonville, Florida, an unaccredited religious institution, awarded Scott an 'honorary doctorate'.

Career

Scott is the founder and pastor of the New Spirit Revival Center in

, which owns radio station

WCCD WCCD (1000 AM) is a commercial daytime-only radio station licensed to Parma, Ohio, that is temporally silent but operates as an internet-only station with a religious format known as "Radio 1000". Owned by New Spirit Revival Center Ministries, ...

AM 1000 in

Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, ...

, where Scott has a daily program.

Role in the 2016 presidential election

In 2011, Donald Trump met Scott in

Trump Tower Trump Tower is a 58-story, mixed-use skyscraper at 721–725 Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, between East 56th and 57th Streets. The building contains the headquarters for the Trump Organization, as well ...

while considering a run for president. After Trump announced his candidacy, Scott was one of the first African-American pastors to support Trump and a key figure in leading other African-American pastors to attend meetings at Trump Tower. In April 2016, Scott and Donald Trump's personal attorney and campaign spokesperson Michael D. Cohen co-founded the National Diversity Coalition for Trump. The group's advisory board had leaders from American-Muslims for Trump, African-American Pastors for Trump, and Korean-Americans for Trump. Scott introduced Trump at a rally at the

I-X Center The International Exposition Center, better known as the I-X Center, is a convention and exhibition hall located in the Hopkins neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The building ...

before the 2016 Ohio Republican presidential primary and later hosted Trump at his church, with the event aired on ''

Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repea ...

''. In July 2016, on the third day of the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken L ...

, Scott was a keynote speaker in support of Donald Trump's nomination; Scott argued in his speech that the " Democrat Party has failed us".

Post-2016 election

After the

2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticke ...

, Scott gave an interview to National Public Radio and described the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

as "pimps" who "pimped out the inner city" like a "pimp stands next to a prostitute". On November 30, 2016, Trump selected Scott as part of his presidential transition team. Scott publicly thanked Trump on Twitter, which resulted in a backlash on social media. Scott was called an Uncle Tom and was accused of taking money in exchange for his support of Trump. In January 2017,

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...

Marc Lamont Hill Marc Lamont Hill (born December 17, 1978) is an American academic, author, activist, and television personality. He is a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hill is the host of ''UpF ...

characterized Scott and other members of Trump's diversity team as "mediocre Negroes" during a

Don Lemon Don Lemon (born March 1, 1966) is an American television journalist most well known for being a host on CNN. Lemon anchored weekend news programs on local television stations in Alabama and Pennsylvania during his early days as a journalist. He ...

CNN Tonight ''CNN Tonight'' is a title that has been used by multiple news programs broadcast by the U.S. cable news channel CNN. The title has primarily been used for transitional programs aired by CNN in the evening and prime time hours as part of change ...

segment. On February 1, 2017, Trump responded with enthusiasm during a White House

Black History Month Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently ...

event to Scott's suggestion that Chicago gang leaders wanted to meet to help reduce gun violence. On April 18, 2017, Scott hosted a meeting at The St. Regis Washington, D.C. with six Chicago residents that hoped to start a community service called "Stronger Together" to rehabilitate housing and start new technical high schools teaching skills such as producing rap music. On August 1, 2018, Scott said during a White House gathering of faith leaders that he thought Trump would be "the most pro-Black president" in his lifetime.

Post-2020 election

During the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...

, Scott falsely claimed that votes were stopped from being counted. Five days after the 2020 election, Scott baselessly stated that fraud caused Trump's loss, but also cited Trump's "unforced errors", including how Trump talked about the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, "I can't be upset if we shoot ourselves in the foot."

Television appearances

Scott has appeared as a commentator on networks Fox News, MSNBC, and

Issues and controversies

On February 2, 2017, Scott said he had "misspoken" due to lack of sleep when he stated Chicago's "top gang thugs" would "lower the body count" if new federal programs were provided. On March 3, 2017, WEWS-TV Channel 5 Cleveland reported Scott was being sued for back rent on a home; Scott referred to the claim as "fake".

Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service is a news service primarily focusing on civil litigation. Its core audience is lawyers and law firms, who subscribe to the service;Courthouse News Service v. Schaefer', Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-39 (E.D. Va. February 20, 2 ...

reported the breach is of a formal land contract and not a lease option.

Personal life

Scott is married to Belinda Scott.

References

External links

Profile
on the New Spirit Revival Center website {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Darrell C. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American Christian clergy Religious leaders from Cleveland Ohio Republicans 21st-century African-American people