Key Takeaways:
* Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump’s spokeswoman, slammed a reporter for seeking comment on a hate crime incident.
* The incident involved a racial slur spray-painted on a black woman’s fence, which led to a surge in community support.
* The reporter suggested a correlation between this incident and others to Trump’s election, causing Leavitt’s outrage.
* Hate crime rates have reportedly doubled since Trump first ran for president.
Leavitt’s Anger Towards Washington Post Reporter’s Query
Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson of former U.S. President Donald Trump, expressed rage on X social platform. Her rage stemmed from a question by a Washington Post reporter. He had asked her to comment on a reported hate crime that occurred two days after the elections. The crime in question involved a racial slur graffiti sprayed on a black woman’s fence. It incited a wave of unity and support from Lawnside’s predominantly black community, which is near Philadelphia.
Rise in Hate Crimes During Trump’s Tenure
Emmanuel Felton, a journalist, contacted Leavitt for her comments on the incident. In his article, he penned that the Lawnside incident was among several racial incidents that unfolded after Trump’s re-election. Concurrently, black people nationwide received text messages saying they had been ‘chosen to pick cotton at the nearest plantation.’
Interestingly, as Lawnside locals gathered to talk about the graffiti on the resident’s fence, self-proclaimed neo-Nazis went on a raucous march in Columbus, Ohio. Felton emphasized that even though none of these events can be traced back directly to Trump, experts believe that Trump’s rhetoric is tied to a nationwide rise in hate crimes. The rates of hate crimes have seen a two times rise in the decade since Trump first ran for the presidency.
Trump’s Spokeswoman Defends Controversial Remarks
However, Leavitt, who had earlier defended the xenophobic joke during Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, disagreed. She previously claimed Governor Tim Walz’s bill on menstrual hygiene access presented a ‘threat to society.’ She dismissed Felton’s assertion with disdain. Arguing against his effort to link the incidents to Trump, she vented her fury in a X post.
Reacting to Felton’s email, she slammed his attempt to fuel division and wrongfully associate Trump with unrelated incidents. Leavitt emphasized that the reporter confessed in the email to not having any concrete trace linking Trump to the racial incident. She voiced her disgust at the ‘Fake News Media’ amidst a mentioned warning given by Amazon billionaire and owner of Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, to his staff before the election.
Bezos’ Remark and its Reference
Leavitt’s comment on Bezos referred to him obstructing the Washington Post editorial board’s plans to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Bezos made the stand with the motive to maintain public trust in the newspaper’s neutral news reporting. However, political endorsements are typically a regular practice for the editorial divisions in most newsrooms.
To summarize, although no direct link exists between President Trump and the racial incidents following his re-election, there’s some perceived impact of his rhetoric on these incidents. Conversely, Leavitt, vehemently denies these assertions while challenging the credibility of mainstream media.