Comedian Denis Leary trashes Trump for exploiting 9/11: ‘I don’t remember seeing him’ at any memorials
In an interview with the Daily Beast, actor and comedian Denis Leary took some shots at presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, hammering him for building his campaign upon fear and bigotry while exploiting the memory of 9/11.
Trump has spent a considerable amount on his campaign attacking Muslims — while invoking fears of terrorism dating back to the tragic day in 2001 — which rankles Leary who is deeply involved in New York and Boston charities that support first responders.
As noted by the Beast’s Marlow Stern, Leary has distributed millions of dollars through his Leary Firefighters Foundation and the Fund for New York’s Bravest, and when he hears Trump discuss 9/11 — it gets under his skin.
“I think he’ll basically do anything to get the spotlight,” Leary explained. “Trump will take advantage of whatever the situation, the cause, or the event might be. Where was he before this? I’ve been downtown forever and been to a lot of 9/11 Memorial events—the 5th anniversary, the 10th anniversary, others—and I don’t remember seeing Donald Trump there once.”
Trump raised eyebrows earlier in the campaign when he stated that he witnessed “thousands” of Muslims celebrating on the day of the tragedy despite there being no evidence in the media of any such thing happening.
For Leary, this is integral to Trump’s campaign.
“It’s all built on fear, noise, bigotry, and finger-pointing,” he said of Trump. “The guy loves to tweet.”
Leary added that, like most of the country, he’s not enamored with the choices coming in in November’s election, saying, “But I look at all the candidates on both sides, and I’m thinking, ‘These are the people we have to choose from? What the f*ck is going on?’”