As we covered last week, former President Donald Trump went to the Bronx to hold a campaign rally. He was the first Republican presidential candidate to do that since Ronald Reagan in 1980.
Before that rally, the Biden campaign – clearly seeing some of the concerning poll numbers we’ve all been talking about – released an ad trying to paint Mr. Trump as a racist who hates black and brown people. Watch:
That is incredibly dishonest and misleading, so we decided to fact-check it.
Fact Check #1: ‘Of Course I Hate These People’
As you heard at the beginning and end, Trump states, “Of course I hate these people.” What? He hates black and brown people? That is a headline. How could that not have been used against him prior to now? Because it’s not true.
The ad goes on to say that it is an example of Donald Trump disrespecting black folk, which is “nothing new.” That line is actually from a 1989 interview on CNN with the late Larry King. Was Trump just this raging lunatic racist that Larry King was putting on with impunity over there on CNN? No.
Trump was on to talk about an ad that he had placed in several New York City newspapers with the headline, “Bring back the death penalty. Bring back our police.” The ad ran 12 days after the infamous Central Park gang rape, when a white woman out for a jog in Manhattan’s Central Park was raped over and over again by multiple people and left for dead. It was so gruesome and awful.
Days later, five black and brown teenagers were arrested in connection with that rape and assault. In the interview, Donald Trump told Larry King the ads that he was placing were not prejudging the teens, but rather advocating for the death penalty if they were found guilty.
Trump’s 1989 ad does not mention the suspects, only the horrific rape that had made international headlines at the time. His point was mainly about crime overall in the city and the need to do something about it.
Here is the entirety of him saying “of course I hate these people”:
TRUMP: I said, of course I hate these people. And let’s all hate these people because maybe hate is what we need if we’re going to get something done. I mean, it’s incredible when a reporter asks me whether or not I have compassion for the people that did this crime. I have absolutely no compassion.
Right, “no compassion for the people who did this crime.” So, he is not talking about all black and brown people, as President Biden’s cynical ad would like you to believe.
Fact Check #2: Renting to Minorities
The ad also talks about Mr. Trump being sued for refusing to rent his apartments to black families. That is a reference back to the 1970s and, yes, a lawsuit from 50 years ago. In 1973, the Department of Justice filed a civil rights case against the Trump firm. Donald Trump and his father eventually entered into a consent decree to settle the litigation in 1975.
That agreement contained no admission of guilt, but it required the Trumps to institute a series of safeguards to make sure apartments were rented without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Never one to back down, Trump went on to write in his 1987 book, “What we didn’t do was rent to welfare cases – white or black.”
Fact Check #3: ‘Bloodbath’
The Biden campaign ad also accuses Mr. Trump of saying there will be a “bloodbath” if he loses the next election. That is a reference, of course, to a speech Donald Trump gave in March. And even major media outlets who are not friendly to Trump admitted he was talking about a bloodbath in the auto industry if he loses.
Here’s the context:
TRUMP: If you’re listening, President Xi – and you and I are friends, but he understands the way I deal – those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re going to get that, you’re going to not hire Americans, and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no. We’re going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars, if I get elected. Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath for the whole– that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a bloodbath for the country.
So, not a bloodbath against black and brown voters, as President Biden is suggesting.
Fact Check #4: Dictator Claims
In the past, we have debunked the ‘Trump wants to be a dictator’ scare tactic also used in the ad. It is a nonsense charge and has been fact-checked by many, so I will not even waste your time going over it again.
‘It’s a Lie’
The net-net: This is a completely dishonest piece of propaganda that the president’s re-election campaign is using, and people should know it’s a lie. Remember when President Biden tried to paint himself as the only one who could unite the nation? All we heard was ‘unity, unity, unity.’ Well, that is a lie, too.
Just when you didn’t think you can be even more grossed out by modern American politics, someone finds a way. This ad is so gross and divisive and shows the panic about what is happening, in particular, with black male voters this election cycle.
You can check out Megyn’s full analysis by tuning in to episode 803 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.