Presidential candidate Donald Trump is not a person rooted in facts (see: his thoughts on climate change). So it was not a surprise when on Friday he said that the Central Park Five, a group of men who were wrongfully imprisoned for the rape of a white woman in 1989, were guilty despite their convictions being vacated and both DNA evidence and a confession from the actual perpetrator. Now filmmaker Ken Burns, who co-directed a documentary about the Central Park Five in 2012, has called out Trump for his comments, while also condemning him as a candidate. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Burns called Trump "vulgar," "narcissistic," and a "threat."
The high profile case of the Central Park Five involved five then-teenage boys, four of them black and one of them Latino. At the time of the case, Trump took out ads in the Daily News reading "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!" On Friday, Trump said, "They admitted they were guilty. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same."
Asked about Trump's comments, Burns said the following:
"It's just so patently untrue—and he knows it's untrue. This is out and out racism. This is a man who finds it impossible to apologize and so he needs to double-down on what we know is untrue. We know this: They were exonerated by a court of law for the crime they served full sentences for. The reason they served the full sentences is because they refused to take a plea bargain and they refused at parole hearings to admit their guilt because they were innocent. They were proved innocent by DNA evidence and the judge vacated their convictions. Several years after that, the city of New York settled with them for time that no amount of money could possibly repay them for."
In 2002, Matias Reyes confessed to the crime for which the Central Park Five had been convicted, but by then the teens had served sentences ranging from seven to 13 years.
Burns continued, "And even though he knows he's wrong he continues to hold to this complete fabrication. It is the height of vulgarity. And I actually don't think anyone wants a president so vulgar as Donald Trump." He later called Trump "unqualified," saying, "No one has lied more frequently. No one presents a greater threat to the survival of our union than this candidate."
"And he continues to perpetuate racial stereotypes that are inexcusable in the 21st century for a person purportedly qualified for the highest office in the land. He ought to be ashamed of himself," Burns said about Trump.
Trump's perpetuation of stereotypes has included saying black people are "living in poverty."
