Obama Quits Longtime Church Over Inflammatory Comments

Video

Rev. Michael Pfleger on Wright and Racism

The Post's Hamil Harris speaks with Rev. Michael L. Pfleger on April 28, 2008 following a speech by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

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That changed after Wright continued to make particularly bombastic comments in late April.

"The insensitivity and the outrageousness of the statements shocked me and surprised me," Obama said after Wright's National Press Club speech.

Wright retired from the 8,000-member church earlier this year.

On Saturday, Hopkins said he was "obviously surprised" at Obama's decision to leave Trinity. "After the Wright comments came out, he seemed to say that he wasn't leaving the church because the church does such great work," Hopkins said.

Hopkins added that he thought Pfleger's comments "crossed the line" and may have pushed Obama "over the top."

"Wright, in his comments, made a distinction between the person and public policy," Hopkins said. "Pfleger's comments were more of a personal attack."

In his 1995 book, "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance," Obama described Trinity as a South Side Chicago institution that introduced him to Christianity and fostered his growth.

He later titled his second book, "The Audacity of Hope," after one of Wright's sermons.