Donald Trump Faces Backlash Over Rally Locations: 'Sundown Towns'
Khaleda Rahman
4 - 6 minutes
Former President Donald Trump is facing backlash for holding rallies in places described as "sundown towns."
A TikTok user pointed out a "troubling pattern" in the locations of Trump's recent rallies in a video that has gone viral on social media. It was also shared on X, formerly Twitter, where it amassed millions of views.
"Howell, Michigan; La Crosse, Wisconsin; Johnstown, Pennsylvania," the man said in the video. "What do these places have in common? They're all sundown towns."
He added: "This is where Donald Trump is choosing to hold his rallies... You got a presidential candidate for the GOP doing a sundown town tour around the country, not looking for political gain. He's f****** rallying the troops."
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The term "sundown towns" dates back to the segregation era, referring to communities with a wholly white population where Black people were considered unsafe after nightfall. Black people were prevented from living in those communities through discriminatory policies or intimidation and violence. Today, many of these communities with racist histories remain predominantly white.
The Trump campaign has been contacted for comment via email.
Donald Trump speaks during a town hall
Former President Donald Trump in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on August 29, 2024. Trump has sparked a backlash for holding rallies in places described as "sundown towns." Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
On social media, many shared their belief that the locations of Trump's recent rallies could not be a coincidence.
Trump's campaign "is intentionally visiting 'sundown towns' which violated federal law to be 'whites only,'" journalist Jim Stewartson wrote on X.
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"This isn't a dogwhistle, it's a KKK hood over every single person who supports Donald Trump or the GOP. ENOUGH."
The Mueller, She Wrote account on X wrote: "It's not a coincidence that Trump keeps hosting rallies in sundown towns. Don't forget he intentionally held a rally in Tulsa on the anniversary of the massacre."
Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama, noted that Trump had also held a rally in a sundown town in Alabama in 2021.
"Interesting notice recently that Trump is holding his rallies in sundown towns. This caught my interest when he chose Cullman, Alabama, my Mother in Law's hometown, as one of his 2021 stops for this campaign," Vance wrote.
1/Interesting notice recently that Trump is holding his rallies in sundown towns. This caught my interest when he chose Cullman, Alabama, my Mother in Law's hometown, as one of his 2021 stops for this campaign. What is a sunset town?
Alabama Republican Party: 50,000 attended Trump rally in Cullman pic.twitter.com/7nogfZsbHc
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) September 1, 2024
"A sundown town is one that forbade Blacks, by ordinance or otherwise, to live in it. Many of these places, including Cullman, posted signs to the effect of 'Whites Only Within City Limits After Dark,' sometimes with far less sanitized language."
She added: "Could it be coincidence that is bringing Trump to these places? Anything is possible, but Cullman, for instance, is out-of-the-way. Any number of places in Alabama would've been more suitable. Sometimes the dog whistle is actually [words], loudly spoken."
An X user wrote in response that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, is "doing a Freedom Bus Tour with 50 stops focusing on reproductive freedom" while Trump "is going to sundown towns to rally the white supremacist vote."
They added: "See the difference? Kamala looks to the future and restoring rights. Trump looks to the past and Jim Crow."
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