AP Photo/LM Otero
Chronicling Trump’s hate throughout the 2016 campaign.
GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump kicked off his candidacy by comparing Mexicans to rapists and criminals. He entered the final stretch before Super Tuesday by initially refusing to condemn white supremacy. Along the way, Trump’s supporters have allegedly beaten a hispanic homeless man, threatened mosques, attacked and spat on immigrants, and accosted Black Lives Matter protesters. Below is an incomplete timelines of Trump’s campaign of hate.
June 2015: Trump targets Mexicans in candidacy announcement
In the same breath as his announcement that he was running for president, Trump, speaking from Trump Tower in New York City, had this to say about Mexican immigrants: “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”
August 2015: Trump ridicules Megyn Kelly
After Megyn Kelly pushed Trump on past sexist comments, including referring to women as “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals,” Trump suggested it was because she was menstruating. “Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever,” he said. After Kelly received death threats for challenging him, Trump dismissed them, saying “I’m sure they don’t mean that,” and continued “I have gained such respect for the people that like me.”
September 2015: Trump insults Carly Fiorina’s appearance
Rolling Stone’s profile on Trump in September described his reaction when Fiorina came on screen as he was watching the news in his private plane. After mocking her appearance, he continued “I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”
September 2015: Trump suggests Syrian refugees are terrorists
Speaking at a high school in New Hampshire, Trump speculated that Syrian refugees could be terrorists, and questioned why Syrians were leaving the war zone en masse. “Did you ever see a migration like that?” he asked. “They’re all men, and they’re all strong-looking guys… There are so many men; there aren’t that many women.” He speculated that the refugees could be members of ISIS or the Islamic State. Trump stated that he would force all Syrian refugees to leave the United States if he is elected president.
September 2015: Trump accuses Muslims of cheering 9/11
Though he was repeatedly debunked by fact-checkers, Trump insisted that Muslim Americans cheered the 9/11 attacks. “Hey, I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering,” he said.
October 2015: Trump encourages violence against protesters
At an event in Miami, Trump said of a group of protesters, “See, the first group, I was nice. ‘Oh, take your time,’” he said. “The second group, I was pretty nice. The third group, I’ll be a little more violent. And the fourth group, I’ll say, ‘Get the hell out of here!’”
November 2015: Trump says “deportation force” will remove immigrants
When MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski pressed Trump on the feasibility of his plan to deport all undocumented immigrants, he continued to call for mass deportation, and advocated the use of a deportation force. Trump went on to emphasize his plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
November 2015: Trump mocks a protester’s weight
When a protester interrupted Trump at a Massachusetts rally, Trump took the time to insult his appearance as he was being kicked out. “You know, it’s amazing, I mention food stamps, and that guy who’s seriously overweight went crazy — amazing. Amazing,” Trump said to cheers. “That’s an amazing sight.”
November 2015: Trump approves of protester being “roughed up”
When a Black Lives Matter protester was kicked and pushed to the ground while being removed from a campaign event in Birmingham, a campaign spokeswoman said that the campaign did not condone such behavior. However, when Trump personally responded he argued in favor of the violent treatment of the protester, stating “maybe [the Black Lives Matter protester] should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.”
November 2015: Trump would spy on American mosques
After slamming German Chancellor Angela Merkel for accepting refugees, Trump continued to tie refugees to terrorism, and even advocated for spying on American Muslims. Trump said that the U.S. should start surveillance of mosques, and even “strongly consider” shutting some mosques down. He also described some mosques as being “embedded” with hatred, and that “the hatred is greater than anybody understands.”
November 2015: Trump says violence keeps things exciting
As a protester was being escorted out of a Worcester, Massachusetts rally after shouting “Trump’s a racist,” Trump remarked, “Isn’t a Trump rally much more exciting than these other ones? [Violent rhetoric] only adds to the excitement.”
December 2015: Trump calls for a ban on Muslims
Ratcheting up his Islamophobic rhetoric from previous calls for surveillance of mosques and a tracking database for American Muslims, Trump argued in favor of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
December 2015: Trump describes his campaign as “war”
In South Carolina, Trump described the campaign as a war between himself and “enemies” like Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush.
January 2016: Trump brags about shooting someone
At a campaign stop in Sioux City, Iowa, Trump bragged that he could shoot someone and still win the GOP nomination. “Where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay? It’s like incredible,” Trump said.
February 2016: Trump urges supporters to “knock the crap out of” protesters
During a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Trump urged supporters to take on protesters. “So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them,” Trump said, before adding, “I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. They won’t be so much because the courts agree with us too.”
February 2016: Trump wants to punch a protester
During a speech in Las Vegas, Trump lashed out at a protester who was being removed by security. “You know what they used to do to guys like that in a place like this?” he asked. “He’d go out in a stretcher.” He then added, “I’d like to punch [a protester] in the face.”
February 2016: Trump refuses to condemn the KKK
During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Trump refused to condemn the endorsement of white supremacist and former KKK leader David Duke. “I don’t know anything about David Duke. I don’t know what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacist. I don’t know,” Trump said. After coming under heavy criticism, the GOP frontrunner rejected Duke’s philosophy and blamed his earlier comments on a faulty earpiece.