{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-racial-discrimination-employees","title":"Documented Racial Discrimination by Trump Organization Against Employees and Tenants","date":"1973-10-15","lastUpdated":"1997-04-01","description":"Beyond the 1973 DOJ housing discrimination case, Trump and the Trump Organization faced documented accounts of racial discrimination in employment practices. John O'Donnell, a former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino president, documented racial remarks Trump made about Black employees in his 1991 book 'Trumped!'; Trump confirmed in 1997 that the account was 'probably true.' Kip Brown, a former employee of Trump's Castle, described patterns of racist behavior. Casino control regulators in New Jersey documented that Black employees were moved off the casino floor when Trump or other VIPs visited.","summary":"John O'Donnell's 1991 memoir 'Trumped!' quoted Trump making explicitly racist remarks about a Black accountant: criticizing the employee's work and saying he preferred having 'short guys that wear yarmulkes every day' do his accounting rather than Black men. In a 1997 Playboy interview, Trump was asked about the quotes and replied the book was 'probably true' — then added that he had been 'playing golf' when he said it and denied the remarks were racist. New Jersey Casino Control Commission records documented that supervisors at Trump's Castle were instructed to remove Black dealers from tables when certain high-rolling guests requested it, a discriminatory practice that resulted in regulatory sanctions.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-racist-claims-213956","title":"Donald Trump's Long History of Racism","publisher":"Politico"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/01/us/trump-defends-casinos-after-discrimination-fine.html","title":"Trump Defends Casinos After Discrimination Fine","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-racial-discrimination-casino-employees","title":"Trump casino discrimination regulatory findings","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/07/12/trumps-long-history-of-racism/","title":"Trump's long history of racial controversies","publisher":"The Washington Post"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["racial-discrimination","employment","casino","pre-presidency","civil-rights","Atlantic-City","O-Donnell"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1973-10-15","title":"DOJ housing discrimination suit — context established","summary":"The Department of Justice sues Trump Management for racial discrimination in housing (documented separately). The suit establishes the legal and documented pattern context for later employment discrimination accounts."},{"date":"1991-01-01","title":"O'Donnell publishes Trumped! — racial remarks documented","summary":"John O'Donnell, former Trump Plaza president, publishes 'Trumped!' documenting Trump's racial remarks about employees including a Black accountant. The book is published while Trump is managing Atlantic City casinos."},{"date":"1992-01-01","title":"New Jersey Casino Control Commission fines Trump's Castle $200K","summary":"The New Jersey Casino Control Commission finds that Trump's Castle supervisors instructed staff to remove Black dealers from tables at the request of high-rolling guests. The commission imposes a $200,000 fine — one of the largest for this violation in state history."},{"date":"1997-04-01","title":"Trump tells Playboy the O'Donnell quotes are 'probably true'","summary":"In a 1997 Playboy interview, Trump is asked about the racist quotes in O'Donnell's book. He responds that the book is 'probably true.' He adds context suggesting he was playing golf and denies the remarks were racist."}],"location":{"name":"Atlantic City, NJ / New York, NY","lat":39.364,"lng":-74.4229},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Black employees of Trump Organization properties subjected to discrimination; casino employees subjected to racially discriminatory removal from the floor; prospective employees subjected to racially biased hiring practices","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Owner and operator of Trump Organization properties; documented making racial remarks about employees; confirmed the accuracy of discrimination accounts","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"1997-04-01","summary":"Based on 1997 Playboy interview and 1992 New Jersey casino commission findings."}]}}