June 7, 2024
The grandson of a former Black Panther Party leader is speaking out against an interview claiming his grandfather’s support of Donald Trump.
The grandson of a former Black Panther Party leader is speaking out against a recent interview that claims his grandfather is a Donald Trump supporter.
David Hilliard, a former chief of staff of the Black Panther Party, can recall Trump owning the properties they rented out in Harlem during the 1960s. According to Hilliard’s grandson, Eric Jones, these were the only comments the former Black Panther Party member made about Trump when speaking with a woman named Carol D. Mitchell.
“He would absolutely not be aligned with any of Trump’s politics,” Jones told What I’m Reading. “People should understand that he is not a supporter of, or affiliated with anything that Trump has done in this modern era.”
Jones says his grandfather spoke with Mitchell, a new neighbor in their senior community in Oakland, California. After speaking with her, his comments were shared on TikTok and quickly picked up by right-wing platforms.
“Trump is a person who’s a decent man, and he supported the Black Panther Party,” Hilliard, 82, reportedly said. “He was someone who gave us money.”
“Trump’s a friend of African Americans, and I knew Trump from the 1960s in New York, where he comes from, and he’s a friend to African Americans. He’s a decent man. I mean, he’s not a racist. He’s not a racist, fascist white man. He supported Black people.”
BREAKING: Black Panthers founding member David Hilliard is backing Donald Trump for president, calling him an “ally of the black population.” pic.twitter.com/cVsDk0v0b0
However, once the interview went viral, Jones stepped in and cleared up any misconception about his grandfather and his alleged support of Trump.
“My grandfather doesn’t support Donald Trump,” he wrote on social media. “This is just senior abuse. This lady really is awful for doing this.”
Jones followed up with a video where he sat beside Hilliard and allowed his grandfather to explain his real estate-based relationship with Trump during the 1960s.
“The lady who interviewed my grandfather did so without any permission. This was done to take advantage of my grandfather, who suffers from dementia, and create a fake narrative in which he endorses/supports Trump in today’s political climate,” Jones said.
Jones says his grandfather spoke with Mitchell, and only after the interview went viral did they check her social media and see her supportive posts about Trump. Now Jones is warning of a cease-and-desist to prevent her from speaking to his grandfather further.
“What makes my grandpa’s dementia particularly sensitive is the PTSD he deals with from his days with the Black Panther Party,” Jones said. “A PTSD caused by many of the policing policies that the Trump administration wishes to uphold.”
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