Former employee Kip Brown has shed light on what he alleges to be racially discriminatory practices at Donald Trump’s Atlantic City casinos during the 1980s. Brown claims that, during visits by Trump and his then-wife Ivana, black staff members were purportedly instructed to stay out of sight, a practice he vividly recalled from his time at Trump’s Castle, now known as the Golden Nugget.
“When Donald and Ivana came to the casino, the bosses would order all the black people off the floor. It was the eighties, I was a teenager, but I remember it: they put us all in the back,” Brown stated in a report by the Inquisitr on Saturday, December 9, 2023.
The origin of this directive, whether directly from Trump or the casino management, remains uncertain, as reported by Complex magazine. This revelation adds to a concerning pattern that critics argue has persisted throughout Trump’s public life, revealing instances of racial discrimination and insensitivity.
More Read
John O’Donnell, former president of the Trump Plaza Casino, shared an account in his memoir where Trump expressed discomfort with black individuals handling his finances. O’Donnell quoted Trump saying, “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day.”
This alleged discriminatory behavior extends beyond the workplace. The Guardian points to Trump Management Corporation’s lawsuit in the early 1970s, led by a 26-year-old Trump, which faced accusations of racial discrimination in housing. The company settled the case “without an admission of guilt.”
Trump’s involvement in racially charged incidents continued over the years. He ran advertisements in 1989 advocating for the death penalty following the wrongful conviction of five black teenagers in the Central Park Five case. Even after their exoneration in 2002, Trump refused to retract his statements, aligning himself with a stance favoring “white law and order.”
The birtherism conspiracy theory, where Trump baselessly questioned Barack Obama’s birthplace, is another instance reflecting his involvement in racially divisive debates. Despite eventually acknowledging Obama’s long-form birth certificate as genuine, Trump’s initial support for the conspiracy theory indicated a willingness to exploit racial tensions for political advantage.
The 2016 presidential campaign showcased Trump’s use of racially charged rhetoric, including calls for a ban on Muslim immigration, labeling Mexican immigrants as “rapists,” and reluctance to condemn white supremacists post-Charlottesville. Reports of disparaging remarks about Haitians and Nigerians further fueled scrutiny surrounding Trump’s racial attitudes.
