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Sunday, July 3, 2016
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Radio show host, author, and political commentator James Edwards — who, I should note, rejects the label “white supremacist,” despite some overwhelming evidence to the contrary — has attended three Trump rallies in recent months, most recently as a fully-credentialed member of the press. According to his website, he will release a recorded interview with Donald Trump Jr., Donald Trump’s son and a surrogate for his campaign, on Saturday.

This past Saturday, Edwards broadcast live from the press pen of a Trump rally in Memphis. Towards the end of an article summing up the event, he reflected on his place as a white supremacist, yes, at a Trump rally:

“I firmly believe that everything for which I stand is both natural and healthy, but it wouldn’t bother me if Donald Trump himself denounced me and all of my friends. He can denounce me until the cows come home so long as he follows through on his pledge to build a wall and ensures that the aliens self deport. I am supporting him because immigration is the single biggest problem that our nation needs to solve. Demographics is destiny. He doesn’t need to support me.“

When asked for comment, Trump campaign spokesperson Hope Hicks said in an email that the campaign provided press credentials to “everyone that requested access to the event,” including “close to 200 reporters.”

She said the campaign “had no knowledge of [Edwards] personal views and strongly condemns them.”

In 2008, the Anti-Defamation League wrote of Edwards,

[He] has interviewed a variety of anti-Semites, white supremacists, Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists and anti-immigrant leaders. A list of former guests includes veteran anti-Semite and Holocaust denier Willis Carto; Prussian Blue, a neo-Nazi singing duo; anti-Semite Ted Pike; Mark Weber, the director of the Institute for Historical Review; and Frank Roman, a founding member of the neo-Nazi European Americans United group.

In the past, the Trump campaign has tightly controlled who is and is not allowed to cover their events:

In July, reporters from the Des Moines Register were prevented from covering a Trump event after their paper published an editorial calling for Mr. Trump to leave the race.

In October, Jorge Ramos and his Univision staff were prevented from covering a Trump event because Trump was suing Univision at the time.

A Buzzfeed reporter was denied entry to a Trump event in November because he had previously stepped outside of the designated “press pen.”

As for the previously-recorded interview that Edwards said is scheduled to air on Saturday, Hicks wrote that “to [Donald Trump Jr.’s] knowledge and that of the campaign, [he] did not participate in an interview with this individual.”

Hmm. We’ll see about that.

I’ve reached out to Edwards for clarification and will update this article as soon as more information becomes available.

3/2/2015: Earlier this afternoon, Trump Jr. told Bloomberg Politics that he did in fact do the interview with Edwards, contrary to his campaign’s previous statement. 

Photo: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Dallas, Texas, in this file photo taken September 14, 2015.   REUTERS/Mike Stone/Files

  • Dominick Vila

    There us is no question that Donald Trump’s proposal to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, deporting all illegal immigrants, carpet bomb Islamic positions, ban Muslims from entering the USA, and other such proposals enjoy the full support of white supremacist groups. However, what is really behind Trump’s popularity has more to do with the disillusionment that tens of thousands of Republicans have with their own party, which they believe has let them down, than the support of bigots.
    Large numbers of Republicans support Trump because they see in him a rebel willing to tackle issues that no other politician would dare touch. Trump’s supporters was to end Roe V Wade, Affirmative Action, same sex marriage, either curtail or repeal all social programs, and a president willing to circumvent the Constitution to advance the interests of the Christian faith at the expense of other religions in the name of religious freedom. They also want a leader that will teach a lesson to the Muslim community, that would ensure no Muslim would ever attack white Christians ever again.
    They may not know it yet, or perhaps they do and don’t care, but what they are proposing is totalitarianism similar to that embraced by the worst despots in the history of humanity.

    • Otto Greif

      How is ending affirmative action and restricting immigration “totalitarianism similar to that embraced by the worst despots in the history of humanity”.

      • Dominick Vila

        Affirmative action is designed to ensure every American enjoys the same opportunities and rights as everyone else.
        The illegal immigration problem in the USA, which is at its lowest point in decades, can be solved by modifying our existing immigration laws to reflect our labor needs. Insisting on the preservation of laws that make it almost impossible for semi-skilled workers to enter the USA legally, and then threatening when they do it illegally, and not punishing the entrepreneurs that hire them is not a solution. Immigration helped the USA become the super power it is today. What we need is courageous politicians willing to take effective steps to end this travesty, not walls that can be circumvented or crawled under.

        • Otto Greif

          Answer the question.

          • Dominick Vila

            The establishment of a form of government that imposes the will of a minority of the population, on the majority of the citizens of a country, against their will, is a totalitarian form of government.
            You may not like affirmative action and immigration, but most Americans don’t have a problem with either.

          • Otto Greif

            When people are allowed to vote on it they enact affirmative action bans, even in liberal states like California and Washington.

          • Dominick Vila

            Deviations from specific facets of an existing policy does not mean most Americans want that policy repealed. Government policies and programs are continuously changed and enhanced, as experience teach us which facets are helpful and which ones are not.

          • Otto Greif

            Voters in liberal states enacting affirmative action bans indicates the majority does not want affirmative action.

          • Otto, you’re incorrigible. A highly reasoned and cool-headed approach, as evidenced by Dominick’s patient and restrained replies, produced not an iota in the alteration in a largely straight-laced world view which you currently are hamstrung with.

            It’s curious to note the change in name to Otto T. Goat—or is that your doppelganger?

          • Otto Greif

            A majority of Americans did not want Obamacare, so according to you Obama is a totalitarian.

          • Dominick Vila

            A majority of Americans supported healthcare reform, and the enactment of the Affordable Care Act when it was signed. Calls for its repeal came after a robust negative campaign by the GOP.

          • Otto Greif

            The majority of Americans did not support Obamacare.

          • Dominick Vila

            One of the most important promises made by Barack Obama when he was running for President was healthcare reform to ensure all Americans had access to affordable and comprehensive medical care. He was elected – and re-elected – by a solid majority of Americans who agreed with his political agenda.

          • Otto Greif

            You contradict yourself a lot.

        • Otto Greif

          Was Dwight Eisenhower a totalitarian despot?

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wetback

          • Dominick Vila

            Nope. FYI. I don’t support illegal immigration, but I don’t believe mass deportation and changing the Constitution to be able to deport the children of illegal immigrants born and raised in the USA is a solution. The solution is to change our existing immigration laws to reflect our labor needs. Denying certain people legal entry, when they know that there are hundreds of U.S. employers awaiting their arrival to offer them a job is a recipe for disaster. The only solution offered by any politician worth considering is McCain’s “Guest Worker” program. It is not perfect, but it is much more practical than what everyone else has proposed to date.

          • Otto Greif

            Thanks for conceding your analogy was ridiculous.

          • Dominick Vila

            You are very welcome, even though I did not concede anything. The point, which you are intent on ignoring, is that a minority of registered voters expect Donald Trump to advance their will, against the wishes of the majority. That, in my book, means totalitarian or dictatorial tendencies.
            What will be interesting to see is how will they react when they find out that Trump’s proposals are classic business tactics. That is, he is shooting for the sky knowing that he will have to settle for much less than what he is proposing.

  • Otto Greif

    Oy vey!

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