Donald Trump's presidential campaign appears to have ended relations with their Arizona-based director, Aaron Borders, following an inquiry from BuzzFeed News about Borders' Islamophobic and racist Facebook posts. Trump's campaign then told BuzzFeed in a statement that Borders had never been connected to the campaign at all.
In tapes provided to BuzzFeed by Borders, Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is recorded hiring Borders. Later tapes, recorded after BuzzFeed's inquiry into Borders' posts, reveal Lewandowski firing Borders and threatening to "sue your f--king ass to next year."
"It's just not something we do," Lewandowski said to Borders in the recordings, referring to him as "staff." "We don't have staff stories and we don't have staff in stories about things... We'll just tell BuzzFeed that there's no formal relationship, that you're an overzealous volunteer, and that you're not part of the campaign in any way shape or form, regardless of what the story says.""I just can't have this, it's a problem. It's just no good. It's negative publicity on staff. I just can't have it," he concluded.This exchange matched the wording of an email from Trump's campaign spokesperson, Hope Hicks, who promptly replied to a request for comment by writing that "we do not have a state director in AZ. I've never heard of Aaron, but he appears to be an over-zealous volunteer. Let me know if you need anything else." [BuzzFeed]
Last week, Trump's campaign fired longtime aide Sam Nunberg after Business Insider turned up racist posts on his personal Facebook page.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictatorIn the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
