Cornell Williams Brooks, a former president of the NAACP, accused President Donald Trump of “blowing a racial dog whistle” a day after Trump forcefully and directly condemned racism.
Brooks accused Trump of racism for retweeting a post by Twitter user Jack Posobiec, a booster of the so-called “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory and self-described “new-right” activist.
In his tweet, Posobiec wondered why the media are ignoring the constant flow of blood on the streets of Chicago:
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/897107711434915842
During an appearance on CNN, Brooks insisted that Trump’s retweeting of Posobiec’s Chicago tweet was “seemingly as an excuse for anti-black racism,” the Hill reported.
Brooks also said he was “very disappointed” in Trump’s retweet but claimed it was part of a “pattern.”
Meanwhile, the Windy City has surpassed the number of murders year-to-date from last year and seems to be on track to suffer the most murders in decades. Chicago has already surpassed 400 murders this year, well ahead of the number this time last year.
Trump has commented on the terrible bloodletting in Chicago many times, both on Twitter and at rallies. The president even offered to send in federal help to stop the killing:
If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible "carnage" going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
Posobiec has been accused of belonging to the “alt-right” and at times has been an ally of alt-right leader Richard Spencer, though Spencer has also recently taken to criticizing Posobiec.
In a statement, Posobiec claimed he might try to take legal action against Brooks and CNN:
The fake news media and the Left has lied and defamed our president for two years. It comes as no surprise to me that they are now lying and smearing all Trump supporters. I am an American military veteran who proudly wore the uniform of our country overseas on multiple deployments. My grandfather fought to liberate Poland from the type of Nazi scum that doughy Internet larpers like Richard Spencer idolize. My family survived the occupation of the Nazis and the Soviets. I am a proud American conservative and am currently exploring legal options against these outrageous and willful lies.
Brooks finished his criticism of Trump by saying the president refuses to give up racist voters.
“The president is unwilling to give up this segment of his base,” Brooks concluded. “He’s trying to have his hate cake and eat it too.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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