'Cannot be a coincidence': Trump called out for new 'very disturbing' racist 'dog whistle'

Donald Trump is being accused of a racist "dog whistle" associated with his recent rallies.

Trump's choice of venue at his rallies in this presidential election cycle has been of particular interest to critics and observers, who say the former president is intentionally choosing locations known for their racist histories.

Specifically, some of Trump's rallies have been scheduled at "sundown towns." A sundown town is "a town that excluded nonwhite people—most frequently African Americans—from remaining in town after sunset," according to Britannica.

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Singer Bill Maddenflagged a video in which a TikTok user said he had noticed a "troubling pattern" of Trump hosting rallies in sundown towns, such as Howell, Michigan, in recent weeks. In response to the video, Madden said, "This gentleman has noticed something very disturbing. Trump has been holding his hate rallies in sundown towns."

This led to journalist Jim Stewartson saying, "He is absolutely correct. Donald Trump’s campaign is intentionally visiting 'sundown towns' which violated federal law to be 'whites only.'"

Opinion columnist Will Bunch said, "This is remarkable - Trump's visits to 'sundown towns' - and cannot be a coincidence. Hat tip to [Madden] and the dude he posted who figured it out."

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance also appeared to notice the trend, separately addressing the issue on X.

"Interesting notice recently that Trump is holding his rallies in sundown towns," she said Sunday. "This caught my interest when he chose Cullman, Alabama, my Mother in Law's hometown, as one of his 2021 stops for this campaign."

She then continued:

"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."

Vance then added, "Sometimes the dog whistle is actually words, loudly spoken."