It’s a day ending in “y”, and so it is that Donald Trump has sparked another firestorm of criticism this morning, and in doing so landed himself the honor of being called “a POS” (piece of sh**) by House of Lies star Don Cheadle. The cause: a tweet politicizing the tragic death of 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge, cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade, who was shot and killed Friday night in Chicago. Offering no condolences, Trump used the occasion of her murder for a tone-deaf I-told-you-so brag session about his chances of landing the African American vote, in the process misspelling Wade’s first name.
“Dwayne Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!” Trump said in a now-deleted tweet, replaced two hours later with one that got the Chicago Bulls Shooting guard’s name right, but was otherwise unchanged.
The comment came after a series of speeches held last week in which the GOP Presidential candidate pitched his case to African American voters, noting high rates of unemployment and violence afflicting their community. “What the hell do you have to lose?” Trump said Thursday, a message largely dismissed by that segment of the electorate, though Trump apparently remained confident enough about the pitch to comment as he did this morning. Unsurprisingly, he quickly became the object of intense criticism, with political commentators, civilians and celebrities alike excoriating him.
Among them, Don Cheadle, who said bluntly “you truly are a POS,” and continued to angrily slam the former host of NBC’s The Apprentice throughout the morning.
Sports journalist and political commentator Keith Olbermann – a frequent, vocal critic of The Donald – also weighed in, blasting Trump for the typo and calling him a “psychopath.”
Singer Michelle Williams was more diplomatic, simply calling Trump “a disgrace” and offering no further comment.
Others, like Bad Boys For Life director Joe Carnahan and Last Week Tonight writer Josh Gondelman, weighed in with bleak jokes.
After several hours of this, Trump finally issued an a statement offering his condolences for Aldridge’s death. However, some political observers immediately pointed out that Trump’s original tweet came from his usual Android device, while the apology came from the iPad favored by his staff.
For his part, Wade didn’t respond to Trump’s tweets, instead pleading for the lives of Chicago youth and calling for an end to violence in the city.
