Aaron Rupar/Twitter
- An attendee of President Trump's Friday rally in The Villages, Florida, was filmed repeatedly flashing a hand gesture linked to white supremacy.
- A video of the event shows the man making an "OK" hand gesture, which has in recent years become a common hand sign among the far-right and white supremacists.
- It comes months after a man in the same retirement community was filmed chanting "white power" and pumping his fist. Trump later retweeted the video, then deleted it.
- The Villages is overwhelmingly conservative and a source of fundraising for Trump.
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A man who was standing directly behind President Donald Trump during his rally in The Villages, Florida, was filmed repeatedly holding up a hand gesture linked to white supremacy.
In a video of the event, the man, who was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, appeared to be holding up an "OK" sign on numerous occasions.
It is not immediately clear what the man meant to gesture, and Business Insider has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
The gesture, made by connecting the thumb with the forefinger, has become a popular sign used among members of the far-right, including white supremacists, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
It was started by 4chan members in 2017 and has since been used "as a sincere expression of White Supremacy," the ADL said.
Watch footage from the rally here:
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 23, 2020
Friday's rally came months after an elderly Trump supporter was filmed in The Villages pumping his fist and chanting "white power" while riding a golf cart in June.
Days later Trump shared footage of that moment on Twitter, thanking "the great people of The Villages." He later deleted the tweet. White House spokesman Judd Deere said at the time the president "did not hear the one statement made on the video" before he shared it.
According to Business Insider's Dave Levinthal, The Villages retirement community is a "reliably conservative community where voting rates obliterate national averages." The central Florida retirement community is also a fundraising stronghold.
On Thursday's presidential debate, Trump claimed to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and moderator Kirsten Welker, who is Black, that he was the "least racist person" in the room.
When asked about why he had spoken unfavorably about the Black Lives Matter movement, the president responded: "You have to understand, the first time I ever heard of Black Lives Matter, they were chanting: 'Pigs in a blanket,' talking about police. That was my first glimpse of Black Lives Matter."
"I thought it was a terrible thing," Trump continued. "As far as my relationships with all people, I think I have great relationships with all people. I am the least racist person in this room."
Biden later said Trump "pours fuel on every single racist fire" and "has a dog whistle as big as a foghorn."
- Read more:
- Trump has repeatedly been endorsed by white supremacist groups and other far-right extremists, and they've looked to him as a source of encouragement
- Trump is increasingly relying on white-supremacist ploys to fire up his base as he panics over his reelection chances
- Trump's former national security adviser says president missed 'a layup' by failing to condemn white supremacy
- More than half of all Americans think Donald Trump fuels white supremacy
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/2IWsjiV
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