In June, multiple social posts, including one with more than 10 million views, claimed former Black Panther Party leader David Hilliard is endorsing Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
“BREAKING: Black Panthers founding member David Hilliard is backing Donald Trump for president, calling him an ‘ally of the black population,’” the viral post said.
The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. It was the era’s most influential militant black power organization, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Hilliard, who was a childhood friend of Newton, served as chief of staff.
Recent search trends show some people online are wondering whether these claims are true.
THE QUESTION
Did former Black Panther Party leader David Hilliard endorse Donald Trump for president?
THE SOURCES
- Multiple posts on X by Eric Jones, David Hilliard’s grandson
- Eric Jones interview with Roland S. Martin, American journalist and commentator
- New York Public Library Archives
- The Gotham Center for New York City History
THE ANSWER
No, former Black Panther Party leader David Hilliard did not endorse Donald Trump for president.
WHAT WE FOUND
Former Black Panther Party Chief of Staff David Hilliard did not endorse Donald Trump for president like viral posts claim. A video misrepresents Hilliard’s account of Trump’s alleged relationship with the Black Panther Party in New York during the 1960s and his grandson says he has been experiencing cognitive issues since 2014.
In a now-deleted TikTok video, a woman named Carol Mitchell can be seen in the days following the former president’s hush money trial conviction in New York asking Hilliard to talk about his opinion of Trump. The video was filmed at a senior living facility in the Oakland, California, area.
On June 2, Mitchell shared a link to the full video on her X account with a caption that reads: “Black Panther David Hilliard endorses @realDonaldTrump Saying: ‘He Likes Blacks.’”
In the video, which was also posted on X, Hilliard does not endorse Trump for president. Instead, he speaks on Trump’s alleged relationship with the Black Panther Party in New York City during the 1960s.
In the video, which appears to be edited because of a jump cut about 43 seconds in, Hilliard told Mitchell that Trump, who was a college student at the time, allegedly supported and gave money to the Black Panther Party. In another clip, Hilliard says Trump is “a friend to African Americans” and “he’s not a racist, fascist white man.”
Mitchell can then be heard off camera asking Hilliard, “Why do you think they put all these charges on Trump and they’re afraid of him to be president?”
“Because Trump likes Africans in America. He likes Black folks,” Hilliard responds.
Though Hilliard speaks positively of the former president, he does not “endorse” Trump for president as the viral posts claim.
After the video went viral on social media, Hilliard’s grandson Eric Jones wrote in multiple posts on his X account that his grandfather has been experiencing cognitive issues since 2014.
“The lady who interviewed my Grandfather did so without any permission. This was done to take advantage of my Grandfather who suffers from dementia and create a fake narrative in which he endorses/supports Trump in today’s political climate. David Hilliard does not support Donald Trump,” Jones wrote in one of the posts.
Jones also said on the #RolandMartinUnfiltered Daily Digital Show that Hilliard can only recall the past and is not aware that Trump is now a politician.
On June 4, Jones posted a video with Hilliard on X in which he says Mitchell’s interview misrepresents Hilliard’s views on Trump and is not an endorsement. In Jones’s video, Hilliard claims Trump was once a realtor to some members of the Black Panther Party in Harlem during the 1960s.
“That is purely speaking in terms of the past,” Jones said. “That is not a nod of support to any of today’s political climate with Donald Trump or any other candidate.”
“That’s correct,” Hilliard says in response.
VERIFY found that the Black Panther Party did have a branch in Harlem in the late 1960s, according to files and papers collected by the New York Public Library.
We also found that Donald Trump’s father, Fred C. Trump, owned several apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Queens in the 1960s. However, it is unclear whether the Trump family owned properties in Harlem and if they were ever associated with the Black Panther Party.
VERIFY reached out to Mitchell, Jones and the Trump campaign for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
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