Louis Farrakhan Praises Trump for His Independence From the "Jewish Community"
Ohhhh boy. Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader and prominent black activist and minister, is a fan of Donald Trump. Can you guess why? The Republican frontrunner “is the only member who has stood in front of Jewish community, and said I don’t want your money,” Farrakhan said in a speech Sunday.
Farrakhan’s unremitting support of black causes is only matched by his unremitting anti-Semitism, so the comment is not wholly surprising. But his praise of Trump in particular—who is no friend to black America, and who has made Muslims a chief target of his xenophobic campaign—is completely bizarre.
Farrakhan gave the remark as a part of his Saviour’s Day sermon at a Nation of Islam mosque in Chicago. An excerpt of his remarks, via the Anti-Defamation League:
While Part 1 of Farrakhan’s 2016 Saviours’ Day sermon last week at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena largely avoided the topic of Jews, in Part 2 of his sermon yesterday, Farrakhan stated that Trump “is the only member who has stood in front of Jewish community, and said I don’t want your money. Any time a man can say to those who control the politics of America, ‘I don’t want your money,’ that means you can’t control me. And they cannot afford to give up control of the presidents of the United States.” However, Farrakhan also distanced himself from a full endorsement of Trump stating, “Not that I’m for Mr. Trump, but I like what I’m looking at.”
In a way, this is pretty impressive maneuvering on Trump’s part. Could any other presidential candidate wrangle the vocal support of Farrakhan with one hand and former KKK grand wizard David Duke with the other?