Member of the Central Park Five blasts Trump for ‘due process’ comment
'Our lives were completely destroyed' says Yusef Salaam
'Our lives were completely destroyed' says Yusef Salaam
On Sunday, a member of the Central Park Five blasted President Donald Trump for his hypocrisy when he reportedly called for “due process” for a staffer accused of domestic abuse.
Trump defended former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who was accused by two of his former wives of domestic abuse. While Porter resigned his position last Wednesday, Trump’s support is notable when contrasted with his reaction to the Central Park Five, as the New York Daily News noted.
Yusef Salaam, one of the Central Park Five who were wrongfully accused and convicted of rape following an attack on a jogger, pointed out the huge difference in the way Trump treated him and the other four as opposed to the way he treated Porter.
Back in 1989, there was no call for “due process” from Trump. Instead, the real estate mogul took out a full page ad that called for Salaam and the rest of the Central Park Five to get the death penalty.
–READ: 3 of ‘Central Park Five’ finally get to attend high school graduation–
The Central Park Five speak out
“The Central Park Five, their families, we were not able to move on with our lives. Our lives were completely destroyed and devastated,” Salaam said in an interview with MSNBC.
“Any kind of dream or idea or goal that we had in life was quickly erased by this accusation,” he added.
Salaam wasn’t the only one pointing out the hypocrisy, either. Raymond Santana, also one of the Central Park Five, pointed out that Trump was singing a very different tune for Porter than he had back then.
“You should have spoke like that back in 1989,” Santana said.
It’s worth pointing out, too, that the members of the Central Park Five are all Black and Latino. Their case has long been looked at as an example of racial bias in the criminal justice system.
The Central Park Five were exonerated in 2002 when the real attacker confessed.
