Kamala Harris’ campaign recently issued scathing criticism against former President Donald Trump for holding a rally in Howell, Michigan.
What was the problem? Well, apparently, that town is notorious for its history and ties to the Ku Klux Klan, so this probably means Trump is buddies with the KKK, according to feckless hypocrites on the left.
Alyssa Bradley, the Harris campaign’s Michigan communications director, said the town is “historically known as ‘the KKK capital of Michigan’” in a written statement. “This [Tuesday] event on ‘crime and safety’ isn’t a dog whistle from Trump – it’s a bullhorn.”
Howell used to be a gathering place for the Klan in the state, led by Robert Miles, a former Grand Dragon. There was recently a white supremacist demonstration in the town with people displaying swastikas and chanting “Heil Hitler.” Some expressed support for Trump.
Bradley continued:
"His visit underscores the core choice in this election — between a prosecutor and a criminal, someone who has spent her life making communities safer and someone who encourages violence, and someone who will build a future where all Michiganders can get ahead and someone who wants to take us back to the days of the KKK."
As always, Democrats’ criticism of the Trump campaign’s choice of venue was not only ridiculous but hypocritical, as Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt pointed out. She reminded everyone that President Joe Biden also held an event in 2021 without folks on the left clutching their pearls about it.
"Did the media write this same story when Joe Biden visited Howell in 2021, or when Kamala Harris visits cities where racist protests and marches have occurred in the past? No, of course not, because the mainstream serves as a divisive, anti-Trump mouthpiece for the Democrat Party," she said in a press statement.
WATCH: Trump Drops the Mic After Reporter Asks Why
He Visited a City 'Linked to White Supremacy'
The former president also slapped down this silly criticism while addressing a reporter who asked about the visit. “Who was here in 2021?” Trump asked.
“Joe Biden,” the reporter asked.
“Thank you,” Trump replied with a laugh.
REPORTER: Kamala's campaign attacked you for being in this town because it's associated with white supremacy.
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 20, 2024
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "Who was here in 2021?
REPORTER: "Joe Biden"
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "Thank you."
🖐️🎤 pic.twitter.com/QZQVDR9XK6
Beyond the blatant hypocrisy coming from the left on this story, there are even worse problems with their fake outrage. Firstly, arguing that choosing a location for an event based on historical associations is ridiculous. There are plenty of areas of the country that have dark histories.
Should Trump not speak anywhere in Louisiana because of its history of slavery and lynching? Should he avoid places like New York City because it used slave labor to build much of its infrastructure, including Broadway and Wall Street? Perhaps he should stay away from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, because the Klan also had a presence there?
The notion that a presidential candidate can’t hold an event in a place with a dark and sordid history ignores the progress that could have been made by its current residents, who should not be excluded because of what folks did in the past.
Secondly, this latest moment of fake outrage could backfire on the Harris campaign by alienating voters in these areas. It certainly comes off as an elitist dismissal of their communities, does it not? Are we to ignore people living in certain parts of the country because evil things occurred where they live? This isn’t exactly the best way to attract people to one’s cause.
Lastly, the manufactured controversy over this move distracts from the actual reason why Trump is visiting the town: to discuss crime and public safety. Harris’ campaign knows that its approach to crime might not resonate with the voting public, so it has to try to deflect from the issue by crying racism, one of Democrats’ favorite pastimes.
It is also worth mentioning that the Democrats conjuring the image of hooded racists with torches is yet another way they are downplaying the severity of the evils the KKK committed just to score cheap political points. It’s the same tactic they used by tossing around the “Jim Crow 2.0” narrative in response to voting laws. As much as these people claim to care about America’s racist history, they sure do like diminishing its significance when it becomes politically expedient.
