Peter Hasson on July 29, 2019
Democratic presidential candidates are rallying around Rev. Al Sharpton in his feud with President Donald Trump.
Trump on Wednesday accused Sharpton of hating white people and police officers after Sharpton took issue with the president’s criticisms of Baltimore. “Trump says I’m a troublemaker & con man. I do make trouble for bigots. If he really thought I was a con man he would want me in his cabinet,” Sharpton wrote on Twitter.
Democratic candidates were quick to side with Sharpton, who has faced criticism in the past for his role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot in New York City.
Sharpton “has spent his life fighting for what’s right and working to improve our nation, even in the face of hate,” Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter. “It’s shameful, yet unsurprising that Trump would continue to attack those who have done so much for our country,” she added.
Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren sounded a similar note on Twitter, asserting that Sharpton “has dedicated his life to the fight for justice for all. No amount of racist tweets from the man in the White House will erase that—and we must not let them divide us. I stand with my friend Al Sharpton in calling out these ongoing attacks on people of color.”
“I’ve known [Sharpton] for decades and Trump’s characterization is not only disrespectful, it’s untrue,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter. “While [Sharpton] was pushing for justice in the teachings of Dr. King, Trump was calling for the execution of five innocent black boys.”
