SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Mark Ruffalo joins Michael Moore as he leads his Broadway audience to Trump Tower to protest President Donald Trump on August 15, 2017 in New York City. (Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images for for DKC/O&M)
Mark Ruffalo, Michael Moore Lead NYC Protest Against 'Absolutely Racist' Trump
"He's allowed fascism, he's allowed the KKK, he's allowed Nazis to show their ugly face, and we're here to remind him there's a cost for that."
Aug 16, 2017
On the heels of President Donald Trump's "unhinged" press conference Tuesday, filmmaker Michael Moore arranged for buses to transport the audience of his broadway show "The Terms of My Surrender" to Trump Tower to protest the president's defense of white supremacists and mourn the death of Heather Heyer.
"This guy is not just crazy--he has an agenda, and he's mad that he said what they made him say, and he walked it all back."
--Michael MooreJoining the demonstration was actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, who delivered a speech slamming Trump for enabling and empowering neo-Nazis, whose actions over the weekend culminated in deadly violence.
"We're here today to commemorate a life of an American that was killed by a Nazi on American soil," Ruffalo said. "Let's say her name so Donald Trump can hear what's happened here. He's allowed these people, he's allowed fascism, he's allowed the KKK, he's allowed Nazis to show their ugly face, and we're here to remind him there's a cost for that. Americans have died because of that. Say her name: Heather Heyer."
Watch the speech:
Many characterized Trump's unscripted press conference as a display of the president's "real" views, in contrast to the more measured tone of his speech on Monday, in which Trump specifically denounced white supremacists for the first time.
In his Tuesday remarks, Trump returned to blaming "both sides" for the violence over the weekend while insisting that there were many "good people" among the neo-Nazis who participated in the so-called "Unite the Right" rally on Saturday.
Moore said during Tuesday night's demonstration, which took place alongside the protests that kicked off earlier in the day as Trump returned to New York, that the press conference "really showed me that this guy is not just crazy--he has an agenda, and he's mad that he said what they made him say, and he walked it all back."
In an interview on CNN following the protest, Moore elaborated on his reaction to the president's remarks. When asked by host Don Lemon if he believes Trump is a racist, Moore responded without hesitation.
"He's absolutely a racist," Moore said. "He's not as stupid as people want to believe he is. He knows exactly what he's doing, he knows the words to use."
Moore went on to say "we cannot any longer mealy-mouth about this."
"America has to stand up," he declared.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
On the heels of President Donald Trump's "unhinged" press conference Tuesday, filmmaker Michael Moore arranged for buses to transport the audience of his broadway show "The Terms of My Surrender" to Trump Tower to protest the president's defense of white supremacists and mourn the death of Heather Heyer.
"This guy is not just crazy--he has an agenda, and he's mad that he said what they made him say, and he walked it all back."
--Michael MooreJoining the demonstration was actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, who delivered a speech slamming Trump for enabling and empowering neo-Nazis, whose actions over the weekend culminated in deadly violence.
"We're here today to commemorate a life of an American that was killed by a Nazi on American soil," Ruffalo said. "Let's say her name so Donald Trump can hear what's happened here. He's allowed these people, he's allowed fascism, he's allowed the KKK, he's allowed Nazis to show their ugly face, and we're here to remind him there's a cost for that. Americans have died because of that. Say her name: Heather Heyer."
Watch the speech:
Many characterized Trump's unscripted press conference as a display of the president's "real" views, in contrast to the more measured tone of his speech on Monday, in which Trump specifically denounced white supremacists for the first time.
In his Tuesday remarks, Trump returned to blaming "both sides" for the violence over the weekend while insisting that there were many "good people" among the neo-Nazis who participated in the so-called "Unite the Right" rally on Saturday.
Moore said during Tuesday night's demonstration, which took place alongside the protests that kicked off earlier in the day as Trump returned to New York, that the press conference "really showed me that this guy is not just crazy--he has an agenda, and he's mad that he said what they made him say, and he walked it all back."
In an interview on CNN following the protest, Moore elaborated on his reaction to the president's remarks. When asked by host Don Lemon if he believes Trump is a racist, Moore responded without hesitation.
"He's absolutely a racist," Moore said. "He's not as stupid as people want to believe he is. He knows exactly what he's doing, he knows the words to use."
Moore went on to say "we cannot any longer mealy-mouth about this."
"America has to stand up," he declared.
On the heels of President Donald Trump's "unhinged" press conference Tuesday, filmmaker Michael Moore arranged for buses to transport the audience of his broadway show "The Terms of My Surrender" to Trump Tower to protest the president's defense of white supremacists and mourn the death of Heather Heyer.
"This guy is not just crazy--he has an agenda, and he's mad that he said what they made him say, and he walked it all back."
--Michael MooreJoining the demonstration was actor and activist Mark Ruffalo, who delivered a speech slamming Trump for enabling and empowering neo-Nazis, whose actions over the weekend culminated in deadly violence.
"We're here today to commemorate a life of an American that was killed by a Nazi on American soil," Ruffalo said. "Let's say her name so Donald Trump can hear what's happened here. He's allowed these people, he's allowed fascism, he's allowed the KKK, he's allowed Nazis to show their ugly face, and we're here to remind him there's a cost for that. Americans have died because of that. Say her name: Heather Heyer."
Watch the speech:
Many characterized Trump's unscripted press conference as a display of the president's "real" views, in contrast to the more measured tone of his speech on Monday, in which Trump specifically denounced white supremacists for the first time.
In his Tuesday remarks, Trump returned to blaming "both sides" for the violence over the weekend while insisting that there were many "good people" among the neo-Nazis who participated in the so-called "Unite the Right" rally on Saturday.
Moore said during Tuesday night's demonstration, which took place alongside the protests that kicked off earlier in the day as Trump returned to New York, that the press conference "really showed me that this guy is not just crazy--he has an agenda, and he's mad that he said what they made him say, and he walked it all back."
In an interview on CNN following the protest, Moore elaborated on his reaction to the president's remarks. When asked by host Don Lemon if he believes Trump is a racist, Moore responded without hesitation.
"He's absolutely a racist," Moore said. "He's not as stupid as people want to believe he is. He knows exactly what he's doing, he knows the words to use."
Moore went on to say "we cannot any longer mealy-mouth about this."
"America has to stand up," he declared.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.