Did the Media Distort Nation of Islam Leader’s Trump Comments?
That Nation of Islam’s Minister Louis Farrakhan hates Jews is not a fact lost on anyone in the media, but his comments this week have attracted media attention—with help from an unlikely source—after he invoked the name of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“He is the only member who has stood in front of Jewish community, and said I don’t want your money,” Farrakhan said Monday during his annual Saviour’s Day address, traditionally a speech in which he spews his venomous hatred for Jews. “Any time a man can say to those who control the politics of America, ‘I don’t want your money,’ that means you can’t control me. And they cannot afford to give up control of the presidents of the United States.”
The NOI leader quickly disavowed any suggestion he was endorsing the New York businessman, whose daughter, Ivanka, has converted to Judaism. He said that he’s “not for Trump,” but that he likes what he’s “looking at” with Trump’s refusal to accept funds from Jewish donors.
To be fair, Trump—who is self-funding his campaign—has refused to solicit donations from any source. That, however, didn’t prevent the Anti-Defamation League, a pro-Israel group, from distributing a press release Monday with the title “Louis Farrakhan Joins List Of Extremists Praising Donald Trump.”
And while the press release was entirely a repudiation of Farrakhan and his hatred of Jews, the media pounced. Tuesday morning, Politico jumped on the ADL report with its own story titled “Louis Farrakhan praises Donald Trump.”
This new line of attacks on the GOP front-runner follows a weekend media barrage over an “endorsement” of Trump from David Duke, a radio host who is a former Louisiana state legislator and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Despite disavowing Duke’s comments, which were clearly not an endorsement, the media has continued to produce racially charged Trump headlines on Super Tuesday I.
