CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promised a "new deal for black America" Wednesday at Charlotte's Spirit Square.
Speaking to a mostly white audience, he talked about launching a new "urban renewal" in America's inner cities and unlocking the "potential" of the African-American community.
"Here is the promise I make to you whether you vote for me or not: I will be your greatest champion," he said, addressing the black community.
"We keep electing the same people over and over and they keep coming back to the African-American and the Hispanic community and keep talking about what they're going to do. ... I will never, ever, take the African-American community for granted. Never ever. Unlike Hillary Clinton."
He also claimed that Democrat Hillary Clinton would start an intervention in Syria "that could lead us into World War III."
Trump's appearance came less than two weeks before Election Day and as polls show the presidential race tightening. Clinton still leads by 5.6 points nationally, according to Real Clear Politics polling average.
The GOP nominee touched on familiar subjects including immigration, taxes, health care and plans for a $1 trillion investment in national infrastructure.
But he kept returning to another theme that he first addressed during a Charlotte rally in August: how his policies would benefit "the inner cities."
Speaking a few blocks from where riots followed last month's police shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott, Trump criticized what he called "uneven justice." He promised that justice would be applied "fairly and equally and without prejudice" with safe neighborhoods.
"I want every poor African-American child to be able to walk down the street ... and not be scared," he said. "Safety is a civil right. The problem is not the presence of police but the absence of police. ... We must work with our police, not against them."
Trump said his policies on immigration, trade and education all would benefit black Americans. "School choice is the greatest civil rights issue of our time," he said.
Some black leaders dismissed what he called Trump's "false promises."
"It sounds like a desperate, last-minute political trick," said Sen. Joel Ford of Charlotte. "If he was serious, his organization and the businesses he owns would reflect those values, and African-Americans who've worked for him over the years would be coming out of the woodwork singing his praises."
Trump trails Democrat Hillary Clinton by 2 points in Real Clear Politics' latest poll average for North Carolina.
Before taking stage, Trump held a roundtable discussion backstage with North Carolina faith and community leaders backstage. Eight African-Americans sat in a horseshoe. Trump told them he's been accepted well by the black community.
"The response has been unbelievable," Trump said about enthusiasm from black Americans.
Trump was introduced by Leon Threatt, a Republican running for Congress in the 12th District. He's bullish about Trump's chances in North Carolina and across the country.
"I'm pretty confident that he'll win this thing in a landslide," Threatt said. "And I think we'll see something similar across the nation. It's looking real good. And I think the American people are ready for that."
Trump appeared in Washington earlier Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting at his new Trump Hotel. At Spirit Square, he was on the same stage where three days before, Chicago's Second City lampooned both him and Clinton in a performance called "Unelectable You."
U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Charlotte Democrat, criticized Trump in a statement released by the Clinton campaign: "Donald Trump's campaign is built on a foundation of harmful prejudices and economic policies which only benefit millionaires like himself while leaving hardworking North Carolina families behind. ...
"It is clear that the only ticket in this election that values the success of all people in this country is Clinton-Kaine."
Clinton returns to North Carolina on Thursday for a rally at Wake Forest University with first lady Michelle Obama.
