Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton posted an open letter on Monday denouncing Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
Stanton's Facebook post, addressed to the candidate, opens with an explanation that he tried his hardest "not to be political" because he "didn’t want to risk any personal goodwill by appearing to take sides in a contentious election." However, Stanton said that opposing Trump is "no longer a political decision. It is a moral one."
The letter continued with Stanton listing examples of what he calls Trump's "racist" behaviors, and explaining that after interviewing "hundreds of Muslims," he found that the truly "hateful" one was Trump.
Stanton concluded, "Those of us who have been paying attention will not allow you to rebrand yourself. You are not a ‘unifier.’ You are not ‘presidential.’ You are not a ‘victim’ of the very anger that you’ve joyfully enflamed for months. You are a man who has encouraged prejudice and violence in the pursuit of personal power. And though your words will no doubt change over the next few months, you will always remain who you are."
Humans of New York is a popular blog featuring street portraits and interviews of local residents, and launched in 2010 as an "exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants." Eventually, Stanton's project expanded to multiple countries.
Last December, the journalist launched a crowdfunding campaign to support Syrian refugees relocating to the United States and raised more than $700,000.
Stanton's letter to Trump has been shared more than half a million times.
