Politics

Donald Trump Has a Message for Bernie Sanders and #BlackLivesMatter

August 11th 2015

During a press conference on Tuesday, Donald Trump called out fellow presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for allowing two #BlackLivesMatter activists to interrupt a Sanders rally in Seattle over the weekend. The protesters wanted Sanders to address their concerns about racial injustice in America. According to Trump, this was a move of weakness.

 

"I would never give up my microphone," Trump said. "I thought that was disgusting. That showed such weakness, the way he was taken away by two young women."

Trump also addressed what might happen if a protester tried to interrupt a Trump rally.

"That will never happen with me. I don't know if I'll do the fighting myself or if other people will. But that was a disgrace," Trump said. "I felt badly for [Sanders], but it showed that he's weak."

Though Trump acknowledged that he and Sanders are both big attractions in the presidential race, Trump said that their similarities end there.

"You know what, he's getting the biggest crowds, and I'm getting the biggest crowds," Trump said. "We're the two getting the crowds, but believe me, that's not going to happen to Trump."

Given the emotional nature of Sanders' event that day, there were some passionate reactions to Trump's remarks:

At Sanders' rally, the #BlackLivesMatter activists spoke for 20 minutes and had a moment of silence for the late Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson one year ago. Though Sanders let the activists speak, he told reporters afterward that he was disappointed that he couldn't discuss the movement himself that day.

"I think it's unfortunate because, among other things, I wanted to talk about the issues of black lives," he said to reporters. "The fact that the American people are tired of seeing unarmed African Americans shot and killed."

For more on the #BlackLivesMatter movement, watch ATTN:'s videos on the death anniversaries of Michael Brown and Eric Garner:

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