Trump claims black Democrat Andrew Gillum is a 'thief,' mayor of 'corrupt' city

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

published 29 October 2018

President Trump built his appeal on a mix of populism and elitism — a contradictory combination that was perfectly on display in one of his Monday tweets.

As polls show Florida's gubernatorial race consistently leaning toward Democrat Andrew Gillum, Trump again relayed his support for GOP candidate Rep. Ron DeSantis (Fla.). In his Monday tweet, Trump called DeSantis a "Harvard/Yale educated man," while referring to Gillum as a "thief" and "mayor of poorly run Tallahassee."

In a response to Trump's tweet, the Toronto Star's Daniel Dale points out the obvious: "There's no evidence Andrew Gillum is a thief," and that "Gillum is a black man." Still, Trump's latest endorsement, which some critics called a "dog whistle," seems another indication that he is going all-in for DeSantis, who has repeatedly made his ties to Trump as a selling point for his campaign. And Trump, as The New York Times' Jonathan Martin put it, "will own this loss should DeSantis fall short."

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.