How is this leadership?

Maxine Luchterhand

Unity

Editor:

Donald Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 and became heavily involved in Trump Management, his father’s real estate company. By 1969 he was being sued by an African American couple in Cincinnati for refusing to rent them a home.

By 1973, the U.S. Justice Department brought a federal Fair Housing lawsuit against Trump Management, naming Donald as president of the organization and accusing him of discriminating against Blacks in 39 buildings in Manhattan. Trump Management agreed to terms set by the Justice Department, but Donald said it was not an admission of guilt.

Trump’s history of discrimination against minorities goes back a long way so it was not a surprise to see him as president eliminate a 2015 initiative known as Affirmative Furthering Fair Housing last June. Earlier in the month he had re-tweeted a video of one of his supporters yelling, “White power!”

In July he vigorously defended the Confederate flag and the use of racially offensive names for professional sports teams. Trump openly displayed his bigotry in 2018 by referring to several African and Caribbean nations as “s—t hole” countries during a discussion on immigration. Many were dismayed to hear our president admonish four congresswomen of color, three of which were born in the United States, to “go back” to the countries they came from.

The American people are accustomed to having a leader that works to unite the nation under the umbrella of universal equality. American presidents typically reference other countries with some degree of respect. Trump makes no effort to bring people together, preferring to use force and divisive, insulting language. He has the international reputation of an arrogant bully. Domestically we know him to be a divider, not a uniter. Neither term describes a leader.