President Trumps Father & The Ku Klux Klan
By ohtadmin | on November 22, 2017
Queens County Memorial Day Parade was held on May 30, 1927. It was crashed by the Ku Klux Klan and a huge fight ensued as seen here in this archival photograph.
During the 2016 Presidential campaign the question was raised of whether or not President Donald Trumps father was a member of the notorious domestic terrorist organization, the Ku Klux Klan.
The allegation stems from an arrest record showing that the Presidents father, Fred Trump who resided with his mother Elizabeth at 175-24 Devonshire Road, was arrested as a result of an encounter with the Klan at what the media erroneously called a Ku Klux Klan rally.
In fact, historians have confirmed that it was the annual Queen County Memorial Day Parade of 1927.
Here is a rundown of what happened and why history is sometimes blurred by politics.
It all begins in the year 1915 with the first narrative feature film, Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith. Based on the novel, The Klansman, the film caused a revival of the Invisible Empire otherwise known as the Ku Klux Klan and by 1924, there were an estimated four million Klansman.
In Queens, there was the Major Emmet D. Smith Klan No. 38, Knights of the Invisible Empire. The Klan even burned a cross on the lawn of the Holy Child Church at 111-11 86th Ave. in Richmond Hill in 1924.
On none of these registries appears the name for Fred Trump or any relatives.
The annual Queens County Memorial Day Parade was held on May 30, 1927.
Donald Trump And The Ku Klux Klan: A History
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For months, as Donald Trump developed his political repertoire, he adopted an uncharacteristic reply for questions about fascism and the Ku Klux Klan: silence, or something close to it.
He used the technique as early as last August, when his opponents, and the press, still generally regarded him as a summer amusement. On August 26th, the Bloomberg Television anchor John Heilemann brought up David Duke, the former Klan Grand Wizard, who had said that Trump was “the best of the lot in the 2016 campaign. Trump replied that he had no idea who Duke was. Heilemann asked if Trump would repudiate Dukes endorsement. “Sure, Trump said, if that would make you feel better, I would certainly repudiate. I don’t know anything about him.” Changing tack, Heilemann pressed Trump about an article in this magazine, which described Trumps broad support among neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and other members of the far right who were drawn in by his comments about Mexicans. Trump maintained a posture of indifference. Honestly, John, Id have to read the story. A lot of people like me. The interview moved on to other topics.
It should be noted that Trumps unfamiliarity with Duke is a recent condition. In 2000, Trump issued a statement that he was no longer considering a run for President with the backing of the Reform Party, partly because it now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke.
Donald Trump Hits Back As He Faces Claims His Father Was Arrested When Anti
- It lists seven men arrested during ‘free-for-all battle’ in Jamaica, Queens and includes ‘Fred Trump’ who was later ‘discharged’
- Republican frontrunner denies his father was arrested and says: ‘This never happened. He was never there’
- ‘Think if it had, he would never have been able to get licenses in New York for anything associated with his business,’ he told Daily Mail Online
- KKK action was targeted at ‘Roman Catholic’ police and saw 1,000 Klansmen taken on by 100 NYPD officers
- Trump’s father, who was born to German immigrants, would go on to become a self-made millionaire creating a massive real estate empire
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Was Donald Trump’s Father In The Kkk Gop Candidate Denies Fred Trump’s New York Arrest
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump raised eyebrows yet again when he refused to disavow Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke’s endorsement on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. The real estate billionaire shrugged off having any prior knowledge of the KKK and their message, saying he couldn’t disavow Duke’s statement as he simply knows “nothing about white supremacists.” Trump should be rather knowledgeable about the white supremacist organization however, as he’s had a tricky past with the KKK before, beginning with his father, Fred Trump.
Trump’s father was arrested in 1927 after a brawl broke out between KKK members and sympathizers of the Italian fascist movement in Queens, New York on Memorial Day, 1927. The Washington Post reported that 1,000 Klan members dressed in white robes marched through the city neighborhood, and seven men were arrested after the public rally turned violent Fred Trump, who lived in Jamaica, Queens at the time, was one of these men.
Of course, Donald Trump thinks none of this happened, and wants people to know that he denied it to the Daily Mail, saying, “It’s a completely false, ridiculous story. He was never there! It never happened. Never took place.”
It remains unclear whether this will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on Super Tuesday.
Fred Trump Was Released Without Charges Although Several Of The Men He Was With Were Charged With Assault
Authorities charged the men arrested at the Jamaica, Queens, rally with things like felonious assault, third degree assault, and disorderly conduct. The first two charges were related to an attack on two policemen William O’Neill, and Sergeant W. Lockyer. The bail amounts for several of the assailants were between $500 and $1,000 . One man, Fred Trump, was simply discharged, or not formally charged with any crimes.
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In 1927 Donald Trumps Father Was Arrested After A Klan Riot In Queens
This piece has been updated.
When he was asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday whether he would condemn the praise of former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, Donald Trump .
“I dont know anything about David Duke, okay,” Trump said. “I dont know anything about what youre even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. I don’t know, did he endorse me? Or what’s going on. Because I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists.”
In 2000, Trump as a member of the Reform Party because the “Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. Fulani. This is not company I wish to keep.” As Trump himself noted on Twitter, he also disavowed Duke in a news conference earlier this week.
But this incident also brings to mind another report, unearthed in September .
On Memorial Day 1927, brawls erupted in New York led by sympathizers of the Italian fascist movement and the Ku Klux Klan. In the fascist brawl, which took place in the Bronx, two Italian men were killed by anti-fascists. In Queens, 1,000 white-robed Klansmen marched through the Jamaica neighborhood, eventually spurring an all-out brawl in which seven men were arrested.
One of those arrested was Fred Trump of 175-24 Devonshire Rd. in Jamaica.
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Linda Gordon On Fred Trump Plus Nancy Maclean On The Roots Of The Right
An inflatable Donald Trump balloon holding a KKK robe during the “Politicon” convention in Pasadena, California, on June 25, 2016.
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The KKK of the 1920s had millions of members outside the South. It targeted Catholics and Jews as well as blacks, and had impressive success at electing governors and congressmen. It passed anti-immigrant restrictions that remained in effect until 1965. And Fred Trump, the presidents father, was arrested as a young man at a Klan march in New York City. Historian Linda Gordon explainsher new book is The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan and the American Political Tradition.
Start Making SenseStart Making Sense is The Nations podcast, hosted by Jon Wiener and co-produced by the Los Angeles Review of Books. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes each Thursday.
Also Check: What Is Donald Trump’s Credit Score
Donald Trump’s Father May Have Had Kkk Associations
Well, well, well. First we have Fred Koch’s fascist background, and now here comes Fred Trump, daddy to The Donald, who is proving himself to have learned well.
In an article subtitled “Klan assails policeman”, Fred Trump is named in among those taken in during a late May “battle” in which “1,000 Klansmen and 100 policemen staged a free-for-all.” At least two officers were hurt during the event, after which the Klan’s activities were denounced by the city’s Police Commissioner, Joseph A. Warren.
The Klan not only wore gowns, but had hoods over their faces almost completely hiding their identity, Warren was quoted as saying in the article, which goes on to identify seven men arrested in the near-riot of the parade.
Named alongside Trump are John E Kapp and John Marcy , Fred Lyons, Thomas Caroll, Thomas Erwin, and Harry J Free. They were arraigned in Jamaica, N.Y. All seven were represented by the same lawyers, according to the article.
The final entry on the list reads: Fred Trump of 175-24 Devonshire Road, Jamaica, was discharged.In 1927, Donald Trump’s father would have been 21 years old, and not yet a well-known figure. Multiple sources report his residence at the timeand throughout his lifeat the same address.
Make of it what you will, but as activist Shaun King tweeted, “Racism is taught.”
Today Donald Trump Continues To Claim Ignorance With Regard To The Harm Caused By White Supremacy Movements
YouTubeBrooklyn Daily Eagle coverage of the 1927 Ku Klux Klan march in Queens.
After the violence that occurred this weekend during which more than 30 people were injured and three were killed at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia Donald Trump made a statement that people on both sides of the political spectrum took issue with:
We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, he said. On many sides.
He failed to mention the hate groups responsible for the rally or to explicitly denounce their message of racism.
His comment on there being many sides that needed condemning, suggests that people other than the hate groups were somehow at fault in all of this.
Many sides suggests that there is no right side or wrong side, that all are morally equal, Senator Kamala Harris wrote in a . But I reject that. Its not hard to spot the wrong side here. Theyre the ones with the torches and the swastikas.
This is actually not the first time that the Trump name has been in the news in connection with a white supremacist rally. For that, we have to go back 90 years.
Trumps father, Fred Trump, was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally in New York on Memorial Day 1927.
On that day, approximately 1,000 white-robed Klansmen marched through Queens in opposition to Roman Catholic police.
Similarly, Donald Trump failed to acknowledge the support of Klan leader David Duke in 2016.
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At The Time Of The Rally Fred Trump Was 21 Years Old And Already A Successful Businessman
Fred Trump was born in 1905, making him 21 years old in May of 1927. He wasn’t a naive 21 year old either. By the time he was halfway through high school, he already owned a construction business that built garages. Throughout his late teens, Trump’s business increased, and he began constructing entire houses. It’s safe to say that he wasn’t the average 21 year old he was a mature business owner who was aware of the decisions that he made, including one to participate in a nativist, xenophobic Klan rally.
Fred Trump: 5 Fast Facts You Need To Know
GettyA photograph of Fred Trump, the father of US President Donald Trump, is seen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 9, 2017.
President Donald Trumps father, the son of German immigrants, started the real estate and construction business his son now runs.
Fred Trump, who died in 1999 at the age of 93, was a controversial figure during his life and after his death, noted for his success, but also for his alleged racial discrimination against potential tenants. Donald Trump has said, My legacy has its roots in my fathers legacy,according to the Washington Post. But President Trump has for years called himself a self-made man.
In October 2018 The New York Times reported that Donald Trump and his siblings helped their parents dodge taxes and that the president received the equivalent of $413 million from his fathers real estate business. The Times cited a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial documents in saying President Trump participated in dubious tax schemes and outright fraud. Through his attorney, Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the $413 million figure is inaccurate. Trump has said he received only a small loan from his father to start his own business.
Heres what you need to know about Fred Trump:
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‘watchmen’ Draws An Unmistakably Bold Line To Trump’s Alleged Kkk Links
“This Extraordinary Being” makes broad but clear strokes at the racist underpinnings of superheroes, with a possible Trump cameo.
As if like clockwork, HBOâs Watchmen continues to unmask Americaâs racist history. In a radical reveal of one of the original comicâs characters, Watchmen also draws an unmistakably bold line to President Donald Trumpâs alleged family connections to the Ku Klux Klan.
Warning: Spoilers for Watchmen ahead.
On Sunday, Damon Lindelofâs Watchmen aired its sixth episode, âThis Extraordinary Being,â a gob-smacking chapter in the HBO âsequelâ to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbonsâ 1988 comic book series.
With Angela Abar under the influence of Nostalgia, she has a vision that takes her back in time to see her grandfather, Will Reeves as he grows from Black NYPD cop to Hooded Justice, one of the first superheroes in the universe of Watchmen.
That Hooded Justice isnât a European immigrant, as heavily speculated in the actual text of Watchmen, but a gay Black man in, letâs call it âwhiteface,â is a pregnant subversion of so many angles within both Watchmen and todayâs superhero media economy. It was Alan Moore himself that said in 2016 that Birth of a Nation was the original superhero movie, and HBOâs Watchmen is playing serious 3D chess with that notion.
When Will finds out, he shoots âFredâ in the head.
