| Dear Katy, Why are MGM and Mark Burnett covering for Donald Trump's racism? Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman just reopened questions about whether there are Apprentice b-roll tapes that include Trump using the n-word. 1 We don't need tapes to know that Trump is a racist and white supremacist. But we do need to take advantage of every opportunity to put Trump's Republican and corporate collaborators on the spot, shut down their attempts to normalize and sanitize his hate, and hold them accountable for supercharging his attacks on our rights and our democracy. Before the 2016 election, several people, including an "Apprentice" producer, said Trump had used racially denigrating language while mic'ed for the show. But MGM and "The Apprentice" producer and creator Mark Burnett used dubious legal claims to refuse to release the archived footage.2 With the tapes again in the news, we need to put massive pressure on them to stop protecting a racist xenophobe and release the tapes now. Tell MGM and Mark Burnett: Release the Trump tapes. Click here to sign the petition. Since Trump took office, he and his Republican lap dogs in the administration and Congress have launched horrific attacks on communities of color. Trump called the white supremacists who terrorized Charlottesville "very fine people." He has advanced extreme policies to ban Muslims, block refugees and deport and terrorize Black and Brown immigrants. Trump's voter suppression commission tried to legitimize the voter fraud myth and supercharge suppression efforts to strip away voting rights. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is relaunching the racist war on drugs. Betsy DeVos and Alex Azar are rolling back decades of progress for civil rights. Video evidence of Trump saying racist things could never be enough to stop Trump from being a racist. But it could help make it harder for Republicans to pretend their Party isn't a white supremacist Party while they consistently do Trump's bidding, and harder for corporations to align their brands with Republicans' toxic agenda. Tell MGM and Mark Burnett: Release the Trump tapes. Click here to sign the petition. Even Trump's attempts to defend himself are filled with his racist hate. As soon as Manigault Newman released the recording of herself and two other Trump campaign staffers discussing the potential fallout if "The Apprentice" videos showed Trump using the racial slur, Trump took to Twitter and called her a "dog."3 Dehumanizing Manigault Newman, a Black woman, with a racist dog whistle is absolutely unacceptable and makes it even more clear that a white supremacist is occupying the Oval Office. At a recent press conference, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders couldn't even "guarantee" that Trump hasn't used the n-word before.4 MGM and Mark Burnett have made millions off Trump. It is appalling that they are still covering for him when the danger he poses to people of color, women and our democracy is so apparent. We need to raise our voices and demand to see the tapes. The more of us who speak out, the greater the chances of further exposing Trump's racism, putting the spotlight on his enablers and holding them accountable. Add your name now to tell MGM and Mark Burnett to release the Trump tapes. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/trump_tapes_2018?t=8&akid=29676%2E12967895%2El1mu5R Thanks for everything you do, Heidi Hess, Co-Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - CBS News, "Omarosa reveals audio of Trump campaign aides allegedly discussing potential fallout of N-word," Aug. 14, 2018.
- Margaret Hartmann, "A Guide to Omarosa's Trump N-word Tape Allegations," New York Magazine, Aug. 14, 2018.
- Michael D. Shear and Eileen Sullivan, "Trump Calls Omarosa Manigault Newman 'That Dog' in His Latest Insult," The New York Times, Aug. 14, 2018.
- Michelle Lou, "Sarah Huckabee Sanders: 'I Can't Guarantee' Trump Never Said Racial Slur," HuffPost, Aug. 14, 2018.
Photo: Gage Skidmore |
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