CAIR-Georgia Criticizes Trumps’ Anti-Palestinian Racist Slur in Presidential Election Debate 

(ATLANTA, GA, 7/2/2024) The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) today criticized the dehumanizing, racist and anti-Palestinian language used by former President Donald Trump at the Presidential debate held in Atlanta, Georgia on June 27th, 2024. 

SEE: Donald Trump calls Joe Biden a ‘weak Palestinian’ – Washington Times 

SEE: Trump calls Biden ‘a bad Palestinian’ as president’s halting debate showing rattles Dems | The Times of Israel 

During a segment of the first presidential debate, former President Trump stated, “But they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weak one,” addressing Biden whilst discussing the war in Gaza. 

CAIR-Georgia strongly condemns the usage of anti-Palestinian language which insinuates that there are negative connotations to being Palestinian. Rhetoric like this further dehumanizes Palestinians and endangers Palestinians both here in the United States and abroad. Violent hate crimes against Palestinians and Muslims are already surging across the globe and in the U.S.  

Trumps’ comments are dangerous and irresponsible, especially considering the recent attempted murder of a Palestinian-American child in Texas less than a week ago. In Gaza, the United Nations has reported civilian deaths have surpassed  35,000, with half of the causalities being women and children. 

SEE: Texas woman arrested, accused of trying to drown 3-year-old Palestinian Muslim child in possible hate crime (nbcnews.com) 

SEE: Palestinian students shot in Vermont speak out: ‘I know that it is a hate crime’ | Vermont | The Guardian 

SEE: A 6-year-old Palestinian-American was stabbed 26 times for being Muslim, police say. His mom couldn’t go to his funeral because she was stabbed, too | CNN 

The Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) reports complaints of anti-Muslim bias in 2023 have risen by 56% since October 2023. CAIR-Georgia reports a 159% increase in their intakes since October 7th, 2023 in comparison to the same period last year. 

CAIR-Georgia asks that former President Donald Trump apologize for the use of the word ‘Palestinian’ as a slur and urges all Americans to stand up against all forms of anti-Palestinian hatred and bigotry. 

CAIR-Georgia’s mission is to protect civil rights, promote justice, empower American Muslims, and enhance the understanding of Islam.   

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.  

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CONTACT: Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, [email protected], 678-653-5822, Nazia Khanzada, CAIR-Georgia Communications Manager, [email protected], (404)-239-2086 

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