Opinion

Dean Obeidallah: Donald Trump's smears go back to the first Americans

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump celebrated Cinco de Mayo, the date of a Mexican victory over France, by enjoying a "taco bowl" prepared by the chefs at Trump Tower Grill in New York City. "I love Hispanics!" the presumptive nominee said. Photo from Facebook

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has faced criticism for his remarks about women, immigrants and people of Islamic faith. But comedian Dean Obeidallah notes that the real estate mogul went after the first Americans first:

If you think Donald Trump just started demonizing minority groups for personal gain during this current presidential campaign, then you don’t know Trump. The perpetually tan alleged billionaire has been spreading lies about minorities in order to help himself get ahead since at least 1993.
That was the year Trump testified before Congress in an effort to stop Native Americans from expanding the number of casinos they were building across the country. At the time of the hearing, Trump’s organization operated three casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Trump didn’t want the Indians to open up any casinos on his turf because he feared they would cut into his profits.
So what did Trump tell the congressional subcommittee on Native American affairs in an effort to stop it? Well, as The Washington Post reported in 1993, Trump “devoted much of his testimony to bad-mouthing Indians.”
Trump warned the congressional committee that if the Indians were allowed to open up more casinos it would bring more crime. In fact, Trump claimed that “organized crime is rampant on Indian reservations” and had already “gotten out of control.” And in true Trump fashion, he then ratcheted up the rhetoric, telling members of Congress that unless they stopped them now, the crime at the Indian run casinos would lead to the “biggest scandal since Al Capone.”

Get the Story:
Dean Obeidallah: How Trump Smeared Native Americans Back in 1993 (The Daily Beast 6/2)