FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 29, 2020
Contact: Logan Smith
[email protected]
202-709-8825

Bend the Arc: Trump’s “white power” video yet another open display of white nationalism

WASHINGTON, DC -- Bend the Arc: Jewish Action released the following statement on Monday in response to President Trump retweeting a video of his supporters yelling “white power,” calling the people in the video “great people”:

“From posting Facebook ads with Nazi symbols to tweeting videos of Trump supporters yelling ‘white power,’ it’s clear the Trump campaign is no longer concerned with hiding their white nationalism,” said Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. “Trump has moved past racist dog whistles, and picked up a bullhorn to send much more explicit signals to right-wing extremists who are trying to make this a country only for people who look like them.”

“Just like when Trump called the neo-Nazis and KKK members in Charlottesville ‘very fine people,’ the president once again simply cannot bring himself to criticize open displays of racism by his supporters,” added Cotler. “If the Trump administration’s words didn’t make their white nationalist motives clear enough, their actions certainly do as they continue to scapegoat and harm immigrants and communities of color, and vilify Black protesters.”

Earlier this month, Facebook removed Trump campaign ads featuring the Nazi symbol used to identify political prisoners. In the days since Bend the Arc: Jewish Action helped expose Trump’s Nazi ads, nearly 4,000 people have signed a Bend the Arc petition calling on Facebook to take further steps -- including firing the company’s Vice President of Global Public Policy Joel Kaplan.

For more examples of white nationalist rhetoric spread by Trump and his GOP enablers, visit HowToFightAntisemitism.com -- a new resource from Bend the Arc: Jewish Action for organizers, the media, and the public, that tracks the spread of deadly antisemitism and conspiracies from far-right extremists and politicians.

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action is uniting a movement of tens of thousands of progressive Jews across the country who are fighting for justice and equality for all. We are the only national Jewish organization focused exclusively on social change in the United States.

In 2020, Bend the Arc is building on its reputation as a leader of the Jewish resistance through the We Rise As One campaign, mobilizing an unprecedented movement of Jews and allies to rise up in solidarity together to defeat white nationalism at the ballot box and hold its champions accountable.

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