ADL: Trump CNN Wrestling Video Uploader Has Anti-Semitic Background
Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump. Image by White House
By Ron Kampeas July 3, 2017
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The anonymous Reddit user who is claiming responsibility for the altered video depicting President Trump bodyslamming someone with CNN superimposed over his head has a history of racism, anti-Semitism and incitement to violence, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said in a one-sentence email to a JTA request for a response to the ADL report on the .GIF file, “The video did not come from Reddit,” the social media platform. He did not say where the video came from.
Trump tweeted the GIF on Sunday. It was drawn from a staged encounter years ago between wrestling impresario Vince McMahon and Trump, who are friends.
#FraudNewsCNN #FNN pic.twitter.com/WYUnHjjUjg
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 2, 2017
ADL in its analysis stopped short of confirming that Reddit user HanAssholeSolo was behind the clip, saying instead that he “appears to have created the version of the edited clip tweeted by the president and posted it on a sub-Reddit commonly used by President Trump supporters.”
It noted that the Reddit user on Monday celebrated Trump’s use of the GIF as a personal victory and that other Reddit users congratulated him or her.
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
