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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDonald Trump and the Central Park Five: the racially charged rise of a demagogue
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/17/central-park-five-donald-trump-jogger-rape-case-new-yorkJust two weeks after the Central Park attack, before any of the boys had faced trial and while Meili remained critically ill in a coma, Donald Trump, whose office on Fifth Avenue commanded an exquisite view of the parks opulent southern frontier, intervened.
He paid a reported $85,000 to take out advertising space in four of the citys newspapers, including the New York Times. Under the headline Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back The Police! and above his signature, Trump wrote: I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence.
Salaam, now 41, cannot remember exactly where he was when he first saw the ads. He had no idea who Trump was. I knew that this famous person calling for us to die was very serious, he recalled.
All five minors had already been paraded in front of the cameras and had their names and addresses published, but Salaam said he and his family received more death threats after the papers ran Trumps full-page screed. On a daytime TV show two days later, a female audience member called for the boys to be castrated and echoed the calls for the death penalty if Meili died. Pat Buchanan, the former Republican White House aide, called for the oldest of the group, Wise, to be tried, convicted and hanged in Central Park by June 1.
fleabiscuit
(4,542 posts)Trump is a true danger to EVERY American while he is in the running for president. Really highlights the ridiculousness of the he vs she that's been going on elsewhere on DU. His behavior now is worse now than it's ever been and it's whipping up a fury.
Wow, we still have a long way to go in the US.
harrose
(380 posts)... by June 1.
Or at least sentenced to serve as long as the Central Park Five did.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)Having a big mouth? For being an asshole?
harrose
(380 posts)... and I were a famous person with a wide audience, a following and a platform, that could, at the very least, constitute harassment, if not worse.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)You seem to think donnie has some big following in NY and we all wait and see what he has to say about whatever. You couldn't be more wrong - that's why he had to take out an ad - it's the only way they would print his words because NYers know he's an imbecile.
harrose
(380 posts)(Oh, by the way, I live in NYC)
In any event, Trump is a ReThug. That means, by definition, that he's probably committed dozens of crimes that we just have to find.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)If you've lived in the city for a while, you know the tabloid front pages about donnie will be making A LOT of appearances come the general campaign season. And there is plenty there to sink him with. I do think this story will show people what kind of repulsive worm he is but I maintain he didn't do anything criminal HERE.
Il_Coniglietto
(373 posts)Is utterly despicable. For anyone who thinks Trump is putting on a show and wasn't always bigoted and disgusting...ugh, he makes me
Thank you for posting this!