Extremely On-Brand White House Appoints Guy Who Mingled With White Nationalists to Holocaust Commission

One of the problems with the Trump administration, in addition to the pure evil, rampant nepotism, rank incompetence, large-scale corruption, and attempts to overthrow democracy, is that virtually everything it does falls under the category of “can‘t make this shit up.” For example, we knew that Donald Trump was an abject racist who’s gone full anti-Semite in a room full of Jewish people on at least one occasion and can’t bring himself to disavow white supremacists. But it would just be a little too on the nose to learn that his White House had appointed a guy it fired for rubbing shoulders with white nationalists to a commission that helps preserves sites related to the Holocaust. And yet!

Darren Beattie, who was fired in 2018, was appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad for a three-year term that will last into the next administration. Mr. Beattie’s dismissal followed the revelation that two years earlier he had appeared on a panel with Peter Brimelow, the founder of the anti-immigrant site VDare, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled a “hate website.” The commission, founded in 1985, is tasked with identifying and preserving cemeteries and historic buildings in Europe, including sites used to kill primarily Jews during the Holocaust.

Mr. Beattie’s dismissal from the White House followed years of criticism that the Trump administration has fostered anti-immigrant sentiment and ties to white nationalists. Shortly after Mr. Trump took office, the White House issued a statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day that neglected to mention Jews. And in 2017, the president was denounced after saying there were “very fine people on both sides” after a protester was killed at a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va.… A White House spokesman declined to comment.

“It is absolutely outrageous that someone who has consorted with racists would even be considered for a position on a commission devoted to preserving Holocaust memorials in Europe,” the Anti-Defamation League’s chief executive, Jonathan Greenblatt, said in a statement. “We urge the administration to rescind his appointment immediately.” In response, Beattie did his best Trump impression, saying: “The ADL pretends to be an organization that protects Jews, but it really exists to protect Democrats. As a Jewish Trump supporter, I consider it an honor to be attacked by the far-left ADL and its disgraced leader, Jonathan Greenblatt.”

Last year, the White House Hanukah party featured evangelical Christian leader Robert Jeffress, a pastor who, among other things, once said religions like Judaism “lead people to an eternity of separation from God in hell.” Can’t wait to see what they’ve got up their sleeves for this year!

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