MAYOR RAS J. BARAKA STATEMENT ON HEADLINER’S REMARKS DURING TRUMP RALLY

“Tony Hinchcliffe’s statements at the Trump campaign rally held this weekend in Manhattan, directly across the Hudson from our multicultural haven of Newark, were in perfect keeping with the candidate’s contempt for Americans he has branded as “the enemy from within.” Like Trump, he desecrated Puerto Ricans, and all Latinos, with outrageously vile malevolence.

“The selection of Hinchcliffe as a headliner at the event was a deliberate choice, as even a cursory scan of his social media posts indicates the racist loathing and venomous hostility of a white supremacist.

“There is no excuse for Hinchcliffe’s inclusion in the program, just as there should be no harbor anywhere in the civilized world for Trump himself, whose tyrannical rhetoric whipped the crowd into the now-expected “Send them back!” chant.

“As Mayor of Newark, a city with a large Puerto Rican population, I am compelled to speak up for them, and all Latinos, who work tirelessly for the betterment of their families and communities, who contribute to every aspect of our society – from government and academics to industry, commerce and the arts – and who fight and die in defense of America and our democracy.

“Trump had the audacity to call the defamatory Madison Square Garden event his homecoming, but make no mistake about it: There is no welcome mat for him, or any racist, here in Newark.”