Open Letter to Trump’s Son-in-Law From Employee Says Trump Signals Support for Hate Groups
Reporter called Trump a ‘dog whistle’ for the groups, called on boss to respond.
— -- Dana Schwartz, an entertainment reporter at The Observer, had tweeted about Donald Trump before. But it wasn’t until she criticized his campaign’s use of an image, including what looked to be a Star of David atop a wall of money, that the hate messages started flooding her feed.
“The people who tweeted back to me were horrific,” she told ABC News. “Just vile, vile stuff.”
She penned an open letter to the owner of The Observer, Jared Kushner –- who just happens to be Donald Trump’s son-in-law. In it, she called out Kushner, who is Jewish, for remaining at Trump’s side despite what she saw as blatantly anti-Semitic imagery.
Speaking to ABC’s “Powerhouse Politics” podcast, Schwartz accused Trump of habitually sending “dog whistles” to hate groups, subtly signaling his approval.
“The message came across loud and clear to people like David Duke and the insane Holocaust deniers in my Twitter mentions,” she said. “He’s going to make small, insecure people feel powerful in any way he can.”
Kushner, the husband of Ivanka Trump, penned a lengthy op-ed in the Observer defending Trump, saying “my father-in-law’s fast-moving team was careless in choosing an image to retweet.”
Schwartz was pleased Kushner took the time to write a response. But she was shocked when Trump refused to admit the image was racist, telling an Ohio crowd that he regretted the star’s removal by his staff.
“You have the star, which is fine,” he said. “I said you should not have taken it down.”
Asked if she would be satisfied by an apology from Trump, Schwartz hesitated.
“I think for Mr. Trump, unfortunately, it’s too late. Mr. Kushner’s response –- I’m really grateful he did it. I would love to see his response to Donald Trump arguing yet again that it’s just a star.”
Schwartz, who covers entertainment, said she’s never been in the same room as Kushner, and that he hasn’t reached out to her. But she’s confident that she’ll remain in her position, saying “I’m happy to be here and just get back to work doing my job, interviewing actors.”