Trump to address black S.C. business owners

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump will speak to more than 500 S.C. African-American small-business owners later this month.

The New York business mogul will join Ohio Gov. John Kasich, another 2016 GOP presidential candidate, at the Greater Charleston Business Alliance’s annual meeting.

Trump will speak at 2 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Embassy Suites in North Charleston, said Stephen Gilchrist, chairman of the S.C. African American Chamber of Commerce, which is co-hosting the event.

Kasich will speak at the small-business conference at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 25.

Karen Finney, a strategic communications adviser to 2016 Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, is scheduled to address the conference Sept. 24.

News of Trump’s speech has increased registration at the conference, Gilchrist said. The three-day, $300 event received 25 new registrations Friday morning after averaging about eight a day.

Later on Sept. 23, Trump is scheduled to attend a presidential town-hall meeting in Columbia being hosted by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-North Charleston.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 11:54 AM.