US President Donald Trump has temporarily posted a video on Twitter in which one of his followers roars a slogan that is widely regarded as racist in the United States.
After four hours, he deleted the retweet: US President Donald Trump.
KEYSTONE / CHRIS KLEPONIS / POOL
The video shows protesters protesting against the president as supporters drive past in golf carts. One of Trump’s supporters then shouts at the demonstrators: “Weisse Macht” (English: “White Power”). This slogan is used primarily by racist groups in the USA.
The video that Trump shared with over 82 million followers had already been viewed around four million times three hours later. After Trump was immediately accused of supporting racism and criticizing even Trump’s Republicans, he deleted his retweet four hours later.
The video is a good two minutes long, but the slogan “Weisse Macht” occurs in the first ten seconds. Trump described his followers, who can be seen in the video, as “great people” and thanked them. After the deletion, the White House then said in a statement that Trump had “not heard” the slogan in question. He only saw the enthusiasm of his followers, said spokesman Judd Deere.
In the undated video from a senior citizen facility in the state of Florida, both the protesters and Trump’s supporters seem to be older white Americans. Trump was described as “racist” on the protesters’ posters, and his supporters had signs of Trump’s campaign on their golf carts that said “Trump 2020” and the slogan “America First”. A protester wore a t-shirt that said “Black Lives Matter”.
Since the death of African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation a month ago, there have been mass protests across the country against racism and police violence. However, Trump primarily presents himself as a president who wants to enforce law and order. He is therefore accused of not taking a clear stand against racism and showing too little understanding of the anger about persistent discrimination and injustice.
(SDA)
–
