Donald Trump Says He's 'Never Used Racist Remarks.' I Know Different.

[DonViejo]

His recent attacks on immigrants fit a pattern of bigoted behavior toward minorities I watched for years.

By JACK O’DONNELL November 07, 2018

Jack O’Donnell is the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino.

On Wednesday, the day after a midterm cycle dominated by President Trump’s divisive fear-mongering about immigrants invading our country, I listened as he told another of the lies for which has become so notorious. During his White House news conference he said, “I’ve never used racist remarks.”

I know the real Trump better than most. For 3½ years, I worked in almost daily contact with him at the highest levels of the Atlantic City casino empire over which he once held sway. I saw him treat black people and minorities as inferior. I heard him say vulgar, bigoted things and I rebuked him for them. But he did not quit. Indeed, he has continued it to this day.

Others who have known him, including his son Eric and former football player Herschel Walker insist he is not a racist. But I don’t see how anyone who has watched him across the 40 or so years could conclude otherwise. After all, he has been so public about it.

We can go back to the start of his career in the early 1970s and the outrage he expressed when Trump and his father were charged by the federal government with discriminating against African-Americans in the rental housing they owned in New York City. Trump’s response was to hire Roy Cohn, who then countersued, calling the Justice Department attorneys “storm troopers” and “Gestapo.” The Trumps ultimately agreed to integrate their buildings, but the Justice Department acknowledged they never really complied. Because they didn’t want to. As Donald saw it, and I remember him voicing a version of this idea within the inner circle of his executives on several occasions: “Blacks don’t want to live with whites, so why isn’t it OK for whites not to want to live with blacks?” I know that in similar fashion he despised the affirmative action guidelines (50 percent female and 30 percent minority at every level) we were required to implement to maintain our gaming license. He would say it was not realistic and a waste of money to train people who did not have the ability.

I recall one busy Saturday night, walking the casino floor with him, when he saw what he considered an inordinate number of black customers. “It’s looking a little dark in here,” he calmly stated. It was his way of telling me to limit our charter bus programs in urban neighborhoods. I ignored him and continued to run the business in the best interest of Donald, the bondholders and the employees.

His prejudices didn’t stop at the color of one’s skin. Everyone was subject to judgment. It could be their ethnicity, their gender, their religion. It could be their social “caste.” Like the time we were speaking of the fiancée of one of our executives who had died in a tragic helicopter crash while returning to Atlantic City from a news conference with Donald in New York. The woman happened to be a cocktail server at the casino. Donald’s take was, “Poor girl. Her ticket out was Jon. She got lucky. Now she will be serving drinks the rest of her life..

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https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/07/donald-trump-says-hes-never-used-a-racist-remark-i-know-different-222314

[mathewgeorge]

1. I'm not surprised.

In one day, he didn't tell the truth 83 times: https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/02/politics/donald-trump-lies/index.html

I don't understand how anyone believes anything he says.

[muntrv]

2. Father Fred was arrested at a klan rally, nuff said.

[Blue Owl]

3. Donald Trump: Odious Piece of Shit

n/t

[brush]

4. Central Park jogger case.

[HockeyMom]

5. I met Trump in the early 70's

I was on my lunch break in Manhattan, Crowd in front of some building. He came up to me. Hi, I am Donald Trump. This is my building. Can I take you on a personal tour? No, I have to get back to work. He went on and on saying he would call my boss. Bla, bla.

He then said to me that, and I will never forget this, "No Spics will ever live in any of my buildings". Stunned me. Saying this to a woman on the street who do not even know?????

Yeah, he was and still is a RACIST. He also thinks he can say whatever he damned well pleases. Hasn't changed in his old age.

[DangerousRhythm]

9. In 1974...

My parents bought a modest house in the Bronx. My Italian/Irish/German father was greeted by a neighbor who openly expressed his pleasure that the house wasn’t bought by “spics”. This neighbor hadn’t yet met my Puerto Rican mother.

Sadly, your story rings true to me for the time.

[raccoon]

6. Yeah, and Melania's ticket out was the Dotard. nt

[dalton99a]

7. Trump is lower than scum.

[Garrett78]

8. He built his campaign and first 2 years in office on racist remarks.