Tracing Donald Trump’s Five Decades of Racist Comments and Acts: From the 1970s to 2010
A Look at Donald Trump's Racist Comments Dating Back Over Decades
Despite his repeated denial, former President Donald Trump's statements and policy proposals from both his campaign and earlier years, bring out a different picture. Numerous journalists, as well as friends, family, and ex-employees, have accused him of increasing racial tensions in the US. From labeling Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists to suggesting a ban on all Muslims entering the country, Trump’s history is marked by a series of controversial comments. Here’s a look at his decades-long record of racist tendencies.
1. The 70s
In 1973, the Justice Department took legal action against Trump and his real estate management firm for breaching the Fair Housing Act. Investigations proved that Trump had reportedly denied rental opportunities to Black tenants and misled Black applicants about apartment availability. Evidence also revealed that Trump's staff marked applications from Black applicants with a 'C' for 'colored' and sent Black and Puerto Rican renters to buildings with fewer White residents. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Trump said, “I have never, nor has anyone in our organization ever, to the best of my knowledge, discriminated or shown bias in renting our apartments,” as reported by ABC News.
2. The 80s
A former Trump employee recalled that in the 1980s, Black staff were usually hidden when Trump visited the casino with his wife. Kip Brown said, “When Donald and Ivana came to the casino, the bosses would order all the Black people off the floor,” as reported by The Guardian. In 1989, five Black and Latino boys were wrongly convicted of raping a woman in New York City. Trump quickly stepped in by placing an ad in local newspapers about the case. He demanded, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” The city later paid $41 million in settlement. However, Trump has repeatedly insisted they are guilty, even though their convictions were overturned.
3. The 90s
In his 1991 book Trumped, John O’Donnell claimed that Trump once said laziness is a trait found in Black people. He recalled Trump saying, "Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day," as reported by The Washington Post. In 1992, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was fined $200,000 for moving Black and female dealers off tables to please a wealthy gambler. Later, in 1993, Trump claimed that some Native American casinos shouldn’t be allowed because the people running them didn’t look like Indians. Later, Rep. George Miller asked him, "Is this you, discussing Indian blood: 'We're going to judge people by whether they have Indian blood whether they're qualified to run a casino or not?'" Trump admitted, "That probably is me, absolutely," as reported by The Washington Post.
4. 2000s
In 2000, Trump opposed a casino plan by the St. Regis Mohawk tribe and secretly ran ads suggesting the tribe had a history of crime. Additionally, on the second season of The Apprentice, Trump fired a Black contestant, Kevin Allen, for being overeducated. As reported by Mediaite, Allen said, “Apparently he doesn’t like educated African-Americans very much.” Trump had remarked, “You’re an unbelievably talented guy in terms of education, and you haven’t done anything." In 2005, for another season of the show, Trump thought about a controversial idea. He said he would be "creating a team of successful African Americans versus a team of successful Whites."
5. 2010s
The proposal for the Ground Zero Mosque caused a major nationwide debate in 2010. Trump opposed it, calling it 'insensitive.' On The Late Show With David Letterman, Trump alluded to Muslims and said, “Well, somebody’s blowing us up. Somebody’s blowing up buildings, and somebody’s doing lots of bad stuff.” The following year, Trump stirred up controversy by spreading false claims that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the US. Obama responded by releasing his birth certificate and calling Trump a “carnival barker.” Further criticizing the country's first Black president, Trump said, “I heard he was a terrible student. Terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?” as reported by Vox.
