The protest came two days after the Republican presidential candidate called for a “complete and total ban” on Muslims entering the United States “until we are able to determine and understand this problem.”
“His rhetoric this election cycle has gone from mean to hateful and now dangerous,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “There is nothing left to say about Donald Trump except that he is a disgusting, racist demagogue who has no business running for president, period.”
“When someone has a faith and when someone is a Muslim that they simply should not be allowed to come to our country, our world, our democracy, it is simply unacceptable,” said Rabbi Bob Kaplan of the Jewish Communities Relations Council.
“I am asking all of our fellow Americans to take the scales off of their eyes and recognize that hatred can only lead to war,” said the Rev. Que English of the Bronx Christian Fellowship.
At one point, a heckler tried to defend Trump, but her shouts were drowned out by chants of “enough is enough,” CBS News reported.
The danger now for Trump is if city officials decide to start looking at any contracts and any tax abatements he receives from the city. Mark-Viverito said that’s a real possibility.
“We are standing here saying that we are not going to allow racism to permeate this discourse and that we reject that,” said Mark-Viverito. “I think that we should question whether or not we should do business with him.”
Trump fired back at the City Council speaker in a statement, saying “Perhaps she should focus on taking care of the filthy conditions of New York City, the ever expanding homeless population and lowering taxes, along with Mayor de Blasio, widely considered the worst mayor in the United States.”
But Mark-Viverito was not the only political figure to voice concerns.
“The more he spews hatred, the more vulnerable the brand name is going to be, and obviously that is something we have to look at as we think about the city economy,” said City Comtroller Scott Stringer.
Mayor de Blasio’s spokeswoman also said he will do everything he can to make sure the city does no future business with Trump.