NFL legend Jim Brown stopped by Trump Tower Tuesday for a meeting pegged as a discussion about issues facing the African-American community, saying he “fell in love” with President-elect Donald Trump.
Though Brown voted for Hillary Clinton in November, he told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin later Tuesday he came away from the meeting with a heart-warming sense of positivity.
“I fell in love with him because he really talks about helping African-American, black people and that’s why I’m here,” said Brown, a man many consider to be one of the NFL’s greatest running backs.
For decades, Brown has been an activist, particularly for minorities and the inner-cities, and his Amer-I-Can program is designed to “empower individuals to take charge of their lives and achieve their full potential,” the group says.
Speaking to Baldwin, Brown cited Trump’s resilience as proof of his worthiness of the nation’s highest office.
“When he goes through what he went through to become the president, he got my admiration,” noted Brown. “No one gave him a chance.”
A 1971 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and eight-time NFL rushing leader, Brown is well known for his work in the African-American community. However, as the subject turned to race on Tuesday, he revealed some lesser-known details to Baldwin and her viewers.
“The three greatest people in my life were white, OK. My high school coach, my high school superintendent and my mentor in Manhasset, Long Island,” he said.
So, in vocally supporting Trump, Brown sees no conflict of ideology. He maintains that his work focus on the human race above all.
“When I come out of the box, I don’t come out of the box as racial,” he said. “I look for good people and people that will be like-minded and help me try to do good for other human beings.”