Donald Trump is currently selecting his Vice President for the upcoming election, with potential candidates consisting of Republican Senators Tim Scott, Doug Burgum, J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio. Additionally, Ben Carson is also on the list. Last month, Donald Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes and is currently awaiting sentencing. With everything that is going on with Trump, here’s a look at how he’s gone from bad to worse over the years.
In 1973, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the Trump Management Corporation for failing to follow the Fair Housing Act. There was evidence discovered by federal officials that showed he refused to rent apartments to Black people. Ultimately, he signed an agreement that stipulated he would not discriminate to renters of color without admitting to his history of discriminatory behavior.
In 1989, the Central Park 5—consisting of 4 Black teens and one Latino teen—were accused of attacking and raping a white woman in New York City. Trump took out ads in newspapers that read: “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” The teenagers later had their convictions overturned, but Trump never apologized for his heinous actions.
In the early 1990s, Trump was accused of being racist toward Black people by the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino John O’Donnell. In addition, the Casino paid a $200k fine in 1992 after transferring Black people and non-Black women dealers off tables at the request of a patron.
In 2000, Trump yet again ran a series of newspaper ads when St. Regis Mohawk tribe considered opening a casino that would be in direct competition with his. The ads stated that the tribe had a “record of criminal activity” that was well known. He also said their dark skin was proof that their ancestry was fake.
Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice” was a huge hit in the 2000s but he wanted it to garner controversy. In 2005, he publicly shared his thoughts on having the show be Black people versus white people. Trump stated that he wanted to create “a team of successful African Americans versus a team of successful whites. Whether people like that idea or not, it is somewhat reflective of our very vicious world.”
Barack Obama becoming this country’s first Black president infuriated Trump, as he pushed the lie that Obama was not born in the United States. Obama ultimately shared his birth certificate and called out Trump as a “carnival barker.” Trump recanted his conspiracy theory in 2016.
Trump began his presidential campaign in 2015 by calling Mexican immigrants rapists. He also said they were “bringing crime” and “bringing drugs” to America. Trump used this rhetoric to justify building a wall to keep them out of the United States.
During his presidency, Trump referred to coronavirus as “kung flu” and the “Chinese virus.” His blatant racism helped fuel hate crimes against Asian Americans, which they reported as a result of the spread of CoviMeanwhile, Asian Americans have reported hateful incidents targeting them due to the spread of the coronavirus.
During the 2020 peaceful George Floyd protests, then-President Donald Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops to D.C. He also deployed numerous unidentified federal law officers—most from Department of Homeland Security—to protestors in Portland, Oregon which led to avoidable and unnecessary injuries.
Similar to his Obama birtherism lies, Trump falsely suggested before the 2-2020 election that VP Kamala Harris—the first Black woman to hold the position—did not “meet the requirements” to be President Joe Biden’s running mate.
On January 6, 2021 following Trump hosting a rally with his most loyal supporters, they violently stormed the Capitol in an attempt to hold onto presidential power. The mob broke through police barricades and within 36 hours of the attack, five people died.
As Trump sets his sights on the Oval Office once again, he has repeatedly used Hitler rhetoric when stating that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country. Hitler once said that Jewish blood were “poisoning” Aryan German blood to justify the Holocaust. Trump feigned ignorance and said he didn’t understand the inhumane reference.
Last year, Trump spoke at the Black Conservative Federation Gala in Columbia, South Carolina. During his speech, he said Black Americans can relate because of unfair treatment in the criminal justice system. “I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time and a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing,” Trump shockingly said.
