Steve Harvey says Trump introduced him to Ben Carson: "It was a successful meeting" https://t.co/UyqzPDTbGn
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 13, 2017
Comedian Steve Harvey visited Trump Tower on Friday, Jan. 13, for a surprising meeting with President-elect Donald Trump, who he has been loudly critical of in the past.
In the lobby, Harvey told reporters that he was advised to meet with the incoming president by members of both Trump’s transition team and Obama’s administration to discuss the radio host’s concerns about issues plaguing America’s “inner cities.” Dr. Ben Carson, Trump’s pick for U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, also was in on the meeting via telephone, The Daily Beast reported.
“It was a really cool meeting,” Harvey said. “[Trump] introduced me to Ben Carson … and we’re gonna team up and see if we can bring about some positive change in the inner cities, which I felt was my only agenda, and he agreed. And he wants to do something.”
The nationally syndicated radio show host went on to say that Trump realized he needed a few allies in the area of inner-city development, so he called on him for help. Harvey said their work would likely begin in violence-stricken cities like Chicago and Detroit, and later expand to other communities across the nation.
“He seemed really sincere about it,” the comedian said of the real estate “tycoon”-turned president. “I wanna do some major things in all the major cities to see if we can bring about some change and help some of these young people out. And so that’s why I’m here.”
Harvey’s latest words on Trump are a far cry from what he had to say in November when the former reality TV star was elected president. Months before Trump’s victory, the comedian quipped, “How do you let a dude who was on the cover of Playboy magazine and has been married 18 times be your president?! Now, come on. Hell, then I qualify!”
Now, Harvey is singing a different tune, telling reporters that it was an honor to be invited to Trump Tower. He added that sitting down and talking was the only way to unify the country during this turbulent time.
“It was a successful meeting,” he said. “It’s just me following orders from my friend President Obama, who said, ‘Steve … you gotta get out from behind your computer. Stop tweeting and texting and get out there and sit down and talk.'”
Harvey said he and the president-elect also discussed golf, their mutual friends and whether the game-show host would have Trump and his children on “Family Feud.”
“The Trumps being on ‘Family Feud?’ Against the Obamas? That’d be good,” he told reporters. “If I could set it up, it would be skyrocketing for the ratings.’
