Minister Louis Farrakhan and members of the Nation of Islam used the ballroom of the Watergate Hotel to offer a stinging rhetorical rebuke to President Donald J. Trump in regards to his domestic and international polices since entering the White House.

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered a warning to Trump and American citizens at the Watergate Hotel Nov. 17. (Photo by Hamil Harris)

The event was billed as a press conference but the atmosphere felt more like the Million Man March as hundreds of men and women from the Nation of Islam gathered at the Watergate Hotel in Northwest, D.C. to hear their 84-year-old leader deliver a speech that he called “a final warning to the government of the United States and the people of America.”

In his unique style Farrakhan sounded like a gospel preacher as he talked about how he loved Jesus and the Jewish people even though for decades he has been accused of being anti-Semitic. “To the Jewish community, Louis Farrakhan is not your enemy. You act as it is a sin to critique you…I admire Jewish people to this day,” he said.

Farrakhan said that he chose to remain a private person until Rev. Jesse Jackson asked him to get involved when he ran for President in 1984. It was during this period that Jackson was criticized for calling New York City “Hymietown,” and when he came to Jackson’s defense was when he ran into problems.

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan. (Courtesy photo)

“I wasn’t anti-Semitic I was pro-Jesse. We were pushing Jesse. He was in our self interest,” said Farrakhan referring to the veteran Civil Rights leader who announced on Nov. 17 that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Despite his illness Jackson still held a press conference on Capitol Hill that was attended by several hundred ministers.

Farrakhan stood on a stage flanked by two books, “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews,” and “Understanding the Assault on the Black Man, Black Manhood and Black Masculinity.”

In terms of Trump, Farrakhan said “He’s an anomaly you can’t make to what you want him to be so you can say that’s my President,” but, he said, what has him concerned is Trump’s foreign policy.

Ishmael Muhammad, the son Elijah Muhammad and spokesman for Farrakhan told the AFRO the purpose of the minister’s speech was simple. “The message to the President is that he is in a position to save America from her own destruction and the judgment of God,” he said.

In terms of growth, Muhammad said the Nation is in 120 cities and many foreign countries and Farrakhan’s message is important especially as it relates to Black youth. “It is important for them to here the minister because it puts their struggle into perspective and challenges them to face and redirect their anger to do something positive.”