(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Professional race-baiter Al Sharpton accused former President Donald Trump of being a “lifelong racist” in his speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday, despite previously being friends, according to NPR.
However, the DNC attack raised questions as to why Sharpton chose so frequently to affiliate himself with the GOP presidential nominee if he was aware of Trump harboring hostile views against minorities.
My response to Al Sharpton saying Donald Trump is a lifelong racist. https://t.co/8fU4N32Wmp pic.twitter.com/pECrXop1d6
— Annette Albright (@inezalbright2) August 23, 2024
“On one side of this race is Donald Trump, a fellow New Yorker I’ve known for 40 years. Only once—once—in that time did he take a position on racial issues,” Sharpton claimed, despite an abundance of evidence that the National Action Network founder and black activist frequently posed with the former Manhattan real-estate mogul at social functions.
“He spent a small fortune on full-page ads calling for the execution of five innocent young teenagers,” Sharpton continued, referencing the Central Park Five. “It was there that I saw Trump loved to fan racial flames.”
Sharpton ran through a laundry list of outdated, disproven left-wing talking points against Trump–such as the out-of-context claim that he referred to neo-Nazis in Charlottesville as “very fine people” following a 2017 riot over the Virginia city’s effort to illegally remove two statues honoring Confederate generals.
Remember Charlottesville when Trump called neo-Nazis very fine people?
I only saw the full clip for the first time today
It’s a must watch — he literally CONDEMNS the Neo Nazis and white nationalists https://t.co/62G0UC5DPL
— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) June 16, 2024
“All Donald Trump has been consistent about is making himself richer and sowing division to get that done,” Sharpton claimed, neglecting to mention that Trump donated his presidential salary.
Meanwhile, the purported civil rights leader has faced several financial scandals himself, including years of tax evasion that left him $4.5 million in debt to the IRS.
As recently as 2015, Sharpton referred to Trump as one of his “buddies,” and even considered endorsing his first presidential campaign.
Sharpton and Trump struck up an acquaintance after running into each other at various social events, including the 1987 book party for Trump’s first memoir, The Art of the Deal.
However, like many high profile celebrities, his opinion changed rapidly after Trump won the presidency.
In 2017, Sharpton published an op-ed coming out against Trump’s alleged immaturity and unfit state to be president.
“No matter the scenario, Trump was always a consummate narcissist and self-promoter,” Sharpton wrote.
“… I wanted to believe that there was hope,” he explained. “… I wanted to believe America was not in the hands of an unyielding demagogue incapable of growth. And I was wrong.”
