*City Councilman Trayon White, who represents DC’s Ward 8, is running for mayor despite accusations of having anti-Semitic views.
As reported by the New York Post, White previously came under fire for praising Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. He also accused the Jewish Rothschild family of controlling the weather.
“I’m running,” White wrote on Instagram. “Join me.” He confirmed his plans to local journalists.
Here’s more from The Post:
White, 37, recently rankled local Democrats by being the lone vote against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city council members and their staffs. The councilman faced intense criticism in 2018 for saying he was concerned about “climate manipulation” by a prominent Jewish banking family. When local Jewish leaders expressed concern, White booked an educational tour of the DC Holocaust Museum — but then created a new scandal by disappearing halfway through the tour.
“DC keep talking about, ‘We’re a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man,” White previously stated.
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He initially defended his comments, saying, “The video says what it says,” but later apologized to the Jewish community.
“I want to apologize to the Jewish Community and anyone I have offended,” White reportedly tweeted at the time. “The Jewish community have been allies with me in my journey to help people. I did not intend to be anti-Semitic, and I see I should not have said that after learning from my colleagues.”
White also caught the attention of mainstream media when he tweeted that he was “honored” to share a birthday with Farrakhan, saying, “I must respect his intelligence, will, & boldness.”
In 2018 he was hit was backlash after it was reported that he donated $500 to a Nation of Islam convention in Chicago.
“I am not resigning, I’m not backing down, I’m not discouraged, I’m not depressed, so run all the media stories you want because my people are going to support me,” White said at the time.
News of White’s DC mayoral candidacy was first reported by Washington City Paper.
White is hoping to unseat Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has not yet announced her plans to seek another term.
