Today’s quote comes to us from Senator Ralph Warnock (D-GA). It concerns the lie that Donald Trump took out a full page ad calling for the death penalty to be imposed on the so-called “Central Park Five”.
So many lies about Donald Trump are being told by Democrats, so many times, that it is hard to keep up.
But, in the interests of giving it a try, let me first put up Warnock’s comment about Trump and “The Central Park Five” (who were eventually exonerated of assault and rape).
While being interviewed by Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union”, Bash asked Warnock his reaction to the possibility that unusually large numbers of Black men would be voting for Donald Trump this year.
Here was Warnock’s answer:
“Listen, let me tell you something this morning black men are not going to vote for Donald Trump in any significant numbers. There’ll be some were not a monolith but as black folk in general and black men in particular, consider who Donald Trump is, as they consider the fact that this is the man who literally took out a full-page ad in the New York times saying that these young teenagers of back in the 1980s who are accused of a horrific crime should receive the death penalty. And then when it was proven that the exonerated five, the Central Park Five, were actually innocent, Donald Trump has shown no deal of concern about what they went through. No bit of contrition about it he’s doubled down on his position. This is who he is. And black men know that as they watch him deal with his own criminal problems and concerns, that the criminal justice system certainly does not handled them the way it handles him.”
There you go. Donald Trump called for The Central Park Five to be given the death penalty. Ralph Warnock said it on CNN, so it must be true, right?
Wrong.
Let’s start by putting up the actual full-page ad Warnock referenced.
It will be too small to read on this blog, so click here for the large, more readable copy.
When you do, you will first find this explanation of Trump’s dissatisfaction with the then-current situation in New York City:
Many New York families – White, Black, Hispanic and Asian – have had to give up the pleasure of a leisurely stroll in the park at dusk, the Saturday visit to the playground with their families, the bike ride at dawn, or just sitting on their stoops – given them up as hostages to a world ruled by the law of the streets…
As you can see, Trump is not framing this in racial, Black-against-White terms, but as all races, no one more than the other, being victimized by crime.
Now let’s see his two references to the death penalty.
Here is the first:
Mayor Koch has stated that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts. I do not think so. I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and, when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence. Yes, Mayor Koch, I want to hate these murderers and I always will.
And here, at the end of his ad, is the second:
Send a message loud and clear to those who would murder our citizens and terrorize New York-BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY AND BRING BACK OUR POLICE!
That’s it. Those are the only references to the death penalty in Trump’s full-page ad.
So what does reading the ad tell us?
-While “The Central Park Five” were almost certainly the impetus for Trump to put up this ad, there was no specific reference to them at all.
-There was no reference to criminal activity by race. No accusations of Black criminality against Whites or any race against any other race. The only racial reference was that ALL races “Black, White, Hispanic and Asian” were being victimized.
-Trump’s demand for the death penalty was that it should be administered specifically to murderers.
-And since “The Central Park Five” were charged with assault and rape, not murder, Trump’s death penalty demand had exactly nothing to do with them.
Based on the above, I award Senator Ralph Warnock Quote Of The Day dishonors, for perpetuating another one of the ongoing series of lies (e.g. Trump called neo-nazis “very fine people”, that the “Project 2025” has anything to do with him, that he said there would be a violent “bloodbath” if he weren’t elected, that he said he would be a dictator from day one, etc. etc. etc. etc.) Democrats keep pumping out…
…with most mainstream media barely calling them out on these lies…and, in some cases, not only not calling them out but joining in the fun.
