Author Michael Eric Dyson Says Americans of ‘Good Conscience’ Should March on Cleveland to Stop Trump

— -- Author and activist Michael Eric Dyson is calling for a march on Cleveland for the Republican National Convention, saying that only massive protests next month can confront what he called the “monster” that is Donald Trump.

Dyson told ABC News Political Director Rick Klein and Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce on ABC’s "Powerhouse Politics" podcast that he has spoken with black church groups and civil rights organizations, among other groups, which are “steadily coming together” to organize a presence at the convention.

Dyson, who published a piece in this week’s New Republic titled “We Must March on Cleveland,” told Klein and Bruce that “those of us of good conscience must descend upon Cleveland.”

Dyson said on the podcast that his call to action reflects his belief that the presidential race is “a watershed moment in American politics. And not just in American politics, but in terms of how we choose to be a nation together.”

Dyson added that there are elements of the race that are “extra-political,” saying “Donald Trump is appealing to the base instincts of American society, the lowest common denominator of bigotry and prejudice.”

Turning his attention to the Republican Party, Dyson lambasted party leaders whom he characterized as responsible for Trump’s success despite their “crocodile tears."

“What the Republicans have essentially done is created this monster that is Donald Trump. Now it’s eating them alive,” Dyson said. “Donald Trump has been incubated in a particular kind of womb, of assaulting the so-called pathologies of black life.”

Reflecting on what he perceived as little “resistance” to Trump despite occasional “grumbles” from party leadership, Dyson said, “I don’t know what’s more impoverished than the inability to say ‘this does not represent us. We will not support this.’”

“The way in which the Republicans have gone about their business has led to a lapse in engagement with more ennobling and uplifting American ideals of disagreement and debate,” Dyson added.

Klein and Bruce also discussed some of this week’s big headlines on the podcast with ABC News Analyst Matthew Dowd, including responses on Capitol Hill to national calls for stricter gun control and the fissure emerging between the National Rifle Association and Donald Trump over the candidate’s support for legislation that would block individuals placed on a no-fly list or terrorist watch list from purchasing firearms.