1972: Undercover Testers For A Government Investigation Found That Trump’s Real Estate Company Denied Apartments Were Available To A Black Investigator And Offered Two On The Same Day To A White Investigator. According to the Washington Post, “When a black woman asked to rent an apartment in a Brooklyn complex managed by Donald Trump’s real estate company, she said she was told that nothing was available. A short time later, a white woman who made the same request was invited to choose between two available apartments. The two would-be renters on that July 1972 day were actually undercover ‘testers’ for a government-sanctioned investigation to determine whether Trump Management Inc. discriminated against minorities seeking housing at properties across Brooklyn and Queens.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]
Trump Rental Agents Told The FBI That Only 1%, Or Even As Lower As 0%, Of Tenants Were Black In Many Buildings. According to the Washington Post, “Other rental agents employed by the Trumps told the FBI that only 1 percent of tenants at the Trump-run Ocean Terrace Apartments were black, and that there were no black tenants at Lincoln Shore Apartments. Both were on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. However, minorities were steered to a different complex on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Patio Gardens, which was 40 percent black, the government said. One black woman, for example, was turned away at a heavily white complex but told that she should ‘try to obtain an apartment at Patio Gardens,’ where ‘a black judge had recently become a tenant,’ according to government filings.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]
Trump Employees Marked Applications Of Minorities With Codes And Allegedly Directed Black And Puerto Rican People Away From Buildings With Mostly White Tenants. According to the Washington Post, “Federal investigators also gathered evidence. Trump employees had secretly marked the applications of minorities with codes, such as ‘No. 9’ and ‘C’ for ‘colored,’ according to government interview accounts filed in federal court. The employees allegedly directed blacks and Puerto Ricans away from buildings with mostly white tenants, and steered them toward properties that had many minorities, the government filings alleged.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]
Trump Employees Who Rented Properties Testified That They Were Told Trump’s Company Only Wanted To Rent To “Jews And Executives,” And “Discouraged Rental To Blacks.” According to the Washington Post, “Two former Trump employees, a husband and wife who rented properties, were quoted in court documents as saying they were told that the company wanted to rent only to ‘Jews and Executives’ and ‘discouraged rental to blacks.’ The couple told the government’s lawyers that they were advised that ‘a racial code was in effect, blacks being referred to as ‘No. 9.’ ‘” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]
1973: The Justice Department Sued Trump And His Father For Refusing To Rent To African Americans. In his book TrumpNation, Timothy L. O’Brien wrote, “Cohn did more for Donald than make introductions. The Justice Department sued Donald and his father in 1973, charging the builders with racial discrimination for refusing to rent to African Americans.” [TrumpNation, 1/1/05]
Washington Post: “As Company President, Donald Trump Took An Interest In All Levels Of The Business.” According to the Washington Post, “As company president, Donald Trump took an interest in all levels of the business, according to his own accounts. He often helped his father with management chores, including collecting rent, sometimes from unruly tenants.” [Washington Post, 1/23/16]
As A Result Of The Racial Discrimination Accusations, Trumps Sued The Government For $100 Million. According to the Real Deal, “The Trumps did not take these accusations lying down. They sued the federal government for $100 million in damages. They settled the DOJ suit two years later in 1975, reaching an agreement with the Feds on how Trump Management would change its business practices.” [Real Deal, 4/1/16]
1975: Trump Signed A Settlement With The Department Of Justice Agreeing To Directly Solicit African American Tenants. In his book TrumpNation, Timothy L. O’Brien wrote, “No shrinking violets they, Cohn and Donald countersued for $100 million, saying the government was trying to force the Trumps to rent to financially risky tenants. A judge quickly dismissed the countersuit, and two years later Donald signed a settlement in which the Trumps agreed to directly solicit African Americans tenants.” [TrumpNation, 1/1/05]
Real Deal: In The Settlement, Trump “Promised To Adhere To A Set Of Anti-Discriminatory Procedures And To Provide The Urban League, The Civil Rights Organization, With Lists Of Rental Vacancies On A Regular Basis.” According to the Real Deal, “As part of the agreement, Trump Management promised to adhere to a set of anti-discriminatory procedures and to provide the Urban League, the civil rights organization, with lists of rental vacancies on a regular basis. But Trump later touted the settlement as a win.” [Real Deal, 4/1/16]
1978: The Department Of Justice Accused The Trumps Of Violating The Consent Decree With Numerous Examples Of Blacks Being Denied Trump Apartments, Racial Steering, And Poor Conditions In Buildings Where Black Families Rented. According to the New York Times, “Only this was not quite the end. A few years later, the government accused the Trumps of violating the consent decree. ‘We believe that an underlying pattern of discrimination continues to exist in the Trump Management organization,’ a Justice Department lawyer wrote to Mr. Cohn in 1978. Once again, the government marshaled numerous examples of blacks being denied Trump apartments. But this time, it also identified a pattern of racial steering. While more black families were now renting in Trump-owned buildings, the government said, many had been confined to a small number of complexes. And tenants in some of these buildings had complained about the conditions, from falling plaster to rusty light fixtures to bloodstained floors.” [New York Times, 8/28/16]
The Original Consent Decree Expired Before The DOJ Could Gather Sufficient Evidence For The New Case. According to the New York Times, “The Trumps effectively wore the government down. The original consent decree expired before the Justice Department had accumulated enough evidence to press its new case.” [New York Times, 8/28/16]
Former Victims Of Housing Discrimination And Advocates Expressed Disappointment At Trump’s Refusal To Take Responsibility For Housing Discrimination By The Trump Management Company. According to Newsweek, “On Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, some housing rights advocates are still waiting for Trump to acknowledge the experiences of the men and women who said they were turned away by Trump Management for their race. ‘We’re disappointed Trump has never acknowledged or apologized for it, and that he acts like it never happened,’ Lisa Rice, the executive vice president of the National Fair Housing Alliance, told Newsweek. ‘We’d like him to publicly say that housing discrimination is wrong and shouldn’t be allowed.’” [Newsweek, 4/11/18]
For Decades, Trump Publicly Slandered And Antagonized Five Black And Latino Men, Who, As Children, Were Wrongfully Convicted Of Raping A White Female Jogger In Central Park In 1989. According to USA Today, “President Donald Trump has repeatedly commented on a case that wrongly accused a group of black and Latino men of assaulting a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989. Trump’s comments surrounding the case, many of which were made in his capacity as a New York business mogul, have resurfaced following a Netflix series on the men who were charged with the assault. The men are commonly referred to as the Central Park Five. Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise were all boys when they were convicted of raping Trisha Meili. They were then found innocent of the crime after convicted murder Matias Reyes in 2002 confessed to raping Meili, which was confirmed by DNA evidence. The city awarded the men $41 million in 2014, a decade after some of the men initially sued the city for how it handled the case.” [USA Today, 6/19/20]
April 1989: Trump Bought Full-Page Advertisements To Argue For The Death Penalty For Black And Latino Men Falsely Accused Of Rape And Assault. According to Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, “In April 1989, Trump saw another opportunity to speak his mind when a young woman who was white and an investment banker was raped and beaten until she became unconscious while out for a jog in Central Park. As media reports shocked the city and the victim struggled for survival, police mounted an intense investigation that ended with the apprehension of five black youths between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who were then interrogated for many hours. The five implicated themselves, but would later recant, saying they had been pressured into making false statements. Editorial writers at the tabloid Post urged readers to ‘channel your outrage’ by demanding lawmakers reinstate the death penalty. Donald Trump bought full-page advertisements in the city’s four big daily papers to proclaim, BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!” [Michael D’Antonio: Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, 9/15]
Trump Wrote In A Full-Page Newspaper Advertisement: “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.” According to the New York Times, “Nonetheless, the brutalization of the victim demonized the suspects and seemed to make any presumption of innocence impossible. Donald J. Trump bought full-page newspaper advertisements demanding the death penalty and rejecting assertions (from Cardinal John J. O’Connor, among others) that society shared the blame for conditions that breed crime. ‘I want to hate these muggers and murderers,’ Mr. Trump wrote. ‘They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes.’ (What if the jogger had died and the five young men had been executed, Mr. Trump was asked the other day. ‘If they were convicted and weren’t guilty the government would’ve made a tragic mistake,’ he said.)” [New York Times, 10/20/02]
1989: The Trump Ad Called The Central Park Five “Roving Bands Of Wild Criminals.” According to the New York Times, “In 1989, Mr. Trump paused in building his real estate empire to run the 600-word ad in The New York Times, The Daily News, The New York Post and New York Newsday, at a total cost of $85,000, under the boldfaced heading, ‘Bring Back the Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!’ In the ad, Mr. Trump said Mayor Edward I. Koch had stated ‘that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts,’ to which Mr. Trump replied: ‘I do not think so. 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.’ At the time, the attack victim was still in a coma. The ad does not name any defendant, instead referring collectively to ‘roving bands of wild criminals.’” [New York Times, 10/23/02]
Trump On The Central Park Five After They Were Exonerated And Given A Settlement By The City Of New York: “These Young Men Do Not Exactly Have The Pasts Of Angels.” According to Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, “The Central Park Five were the teenagers who had been arrested and charged with the notorious assault and rape of a young woman in Central Park in 1989 […] Freed when DNA evidence proved someone else committed the crime, the men sued, and in 2014 the City of New York paid them a total of $ 40 million, or $ 1 million each per year of imprisonment, as a settlement. This event prompted much public soul-searching about the rush to judgment in the case, but Trump called the settlement ‘a disgrace’ and complained, ‘These young men do not exactly have the pasts of angels.’ When we spoke, at the time of the settlement, Trump said, ‘I spoke to a detective who is sure that they attacked her.’” [Never Enough: Donald Trump And The Pursuit Of Success, 1/1/15]
Trump On The Central Park Five After DNA Evidence Exonerated Them: “Tell Me, What Were They Doing In The Park, Playing Checkers?” According to Donald Trump: A Biography Of The Mogul Turned Presidential Candidate, “These brow-raising sentiments have been expressed in more subtle ways as well. In the infamous ‘Central Park Five’ case in which five teenagers, in 1989, were falsely accused of raping a white woman in Central Park, Trump reserved a full-spread advertisement in major New York newspapers demanding that the governor reinstate the death penalty. ‘Tell me, what were they doing in the Park, playing checkers?’ he asked after DNA evidence had revealed that they had not been the perpetrators.” [Donald Trump: A Biography Of The Mogul Turned Presidential Candidate, 2015]
VIDEO: Trump: “I’m Proud To Be” A Birther. According to the Laura Ingraham Show, "TRUMP: I don't feel heat. I think he's got heat. Look, he cannot give a birth certificate. You can, I can, I got one yesterday, it took me a day, 24 hours, I got one. […] A lot of the so-called birthers, these are great people, these are really great American people. These are hard-working, unbelievable, the salt of the earth people. […] I'm proud to be, I mean I'm very proud of it. I don't like the term. I think it is a demeaning term to the people that believe that he should have a birth certificate, that some people believe he was not born in this country. And when people ask me that question, I just can't be sure because nobody knows." [Laura Ingraham Show via YouTube, 3/30/11]
2011: Trump Hired A Team Of Detectives To Prove Obama Was Not Born In The United States. According to the New York Post, “Donald Trump has hired a team of detectives and dispatched them to Hawaii to prove one thing - that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States and, therefore, is ineligible to be president. ‘I have people that actually have been studying it, and they cannot believe what they’re finding,’ Trump said yesterday on NBC’s ‘Today’ show. ‘I’m starting to think that he was not born here.’ Of course, the president has produced a state certificate of live birth, and Hawaii officials have certified his citizenship, but none of that has erased the doubts of so-called birthers.” [New York Post, 4/8/11]
Biography: Trump “Claimed Victory” When Obama Released His Long-Form Birth Certification Two Days After Trump Questioned His Birthplace. According to Donald Trump: A Biography Of The Mogul Turned Presidential Candidate, “Two days after Trump’s remarks, Obama made a formal statement in an effort to quell the issue, which the White House saw as an incredible distraction, and released his long-form birth certificate. Trump claimed victory. Briefly, he had been elevated to the stature of the presidency. He had made a direct challenge to Obama, and it seemed like Obama folded. Though Trump, too, recognized the potency of the issue, he refused to quell his accusations. Despite evidence to the contrary, Trump still claims that he doesn’t ‘know why he wouldn’t release his records.’ He casts an ever so subtle suspicion even on the documents that have been released, refusing to let the issue that jettisoned him into the political conversation fade from public imagination.” [Donald Trump: A Biography Of The Mogul Turned Presidential Candidate, 2015]
July 2015: Trump: “I Don't Know Why He Wouldn't Release His Records.” According to a transcript of CNN, “COOPER: No. I'm asking now, do you say that President Obama was born in the United States? TRUMP: No. I don't know. I really don't know. I mean, I don't know why he wouldn't release his records. But you know, honestly, I don't want to get in it. He came up with this thing, all of a sudden. Remember this one thing. I'm only going to get one thing because I'm about jobs, the economy, and I'm about the military and taking care of all that. And let me just say something. You know that Hillary Clinton was a birther. She wanted the records and fought like hell. People forget. Do you know, John McCain was a birther? Wanted those records. They couldn't get the records. Hillary failed. John McCain failed. Trump was able to get them to give something. I don't know what the hell it was, but it doesn't matter because I am off that subject.” [CNN, 7/9/15]
Trump Never Apologized For Spearheading The Racist Birther Conspiracies Against President Obama. According to Politico, “Donald Trump did not apologize Friday for driving one of the uglier, most blatantly racist narratives in American political culture during the Obama presidency. The most prominent proponent of the birther movement, and now the GOP presidential nominee, instead lied about his role in the conspiracy theory and, without any evidence, attempted to pin the blame on Hillary Clinton.” [Politico, 9/16/16]
Despite The Proven Falsehoods Of His Claims, Trump Continued To Tout His Racist Birther Conspiracy Theories. According to Newsweek, “President Donald Trump still believes that former President Barack Obama’s birth certificate may be fake, The New York Times reported Tuesday. A senator told the publication that Trump has still not moved on from the conspiracy theory with which he launched his political career. The senator, who was not named in the report, said Trump ‘has had a hard time letting go of his claim that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States.’ […] Birtherism, as it became known, was denounced as a racist dog-whistle by critics — and Trump publicly renounced the position in September, 2016, while campaigning to be president, before falsely claiming his presidential rival Hillary Clinton had first spread the theory in 2008. ‘President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period,’ Trump said. ‘Now, we all want to get back to making America strong and great again.’ However, Trump advisers told the Times that the president has continued to espouse the theory in private—as well as claiming that the Access Hollywood recording in which he boasted of groping women was fake.” [Newsweek, 11/29/17]
Trump On Obama’s 2016 Visit To Mosque: “I Don’t Know, Maybe He Feels Comfortable There.” According to CNN, “Donald Trump revived questions of President Barack Obama’s religion on Wednesday, saying the President went to a mosque in Baltimore because ‘maybe he feels comfortable there.’ ‘I think that we can go to lots of places. I don’t know, maybe he feels comfortable there,’ Trump told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. ‘We have a lot of problems in this country, Greta. There are a lot of places he can go and he chose a mosque. I saw that just a little while ago. So that’s his decision, it’s fine.’” [CNN, 2/3/16]
Trump Said “There’s Something Going On” With Obama Because Obama Would Not Describe San Bernardino Shooters As “Radical Islamic” Terrorists According to the Washington Post, “After stating that the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., might have been carried out by ‘radical Islamic’ terrorists, Trump bemoaned that ‘we have a president that refuses to use the term.’ ‘He refuses to say it,’ Trump said. ‘There's something going on with him that we don't know about.’” [Washington Post, 12/3/15]
VIDEO: September 2015: Trump On Whether He Could Support A Muslim President: “Some Say It Already Happened.” According to NBC News, “TODD: Can you imagine supporting or being comfortable if a Muslim ever became President of the United States? TRUMP: I can say it’s something that at some point could happen. We’ll see. You know it’s something that could happen. Would I be comfortable? I don't know if we have to address it right now. But I think it’s certainly something that could happen. Some people have said it already happened, frankly, but you wouldn’t agree with that.” [NBC News, 9/20/15]
AUDIO: Trump: On Obama: “I Think He’s A Threat To Our Country.” According to the Jeff Kuehner Show, “KUEHNER: Is he a threat to national security, Mr. Trump? Is Obama now a threat to America’s national security? TRUMP: I think he's a threat to our country. I mean he must have some kind of a thing going because, you know, when you see that he won't even call them by their name, attack after attack after attack, and it’s always the same thing, its hatred, its hatred And it is exactly that, it's radical Islamic terrorism and he won't even acknowledge it -- it's like they're coming out of Denmark or something." [Jeff Kuehner Show, 11/18/15]