More trouble for Trudeau, Liberals as new video of leader wearing racist makeup comes to light
Posted September 19, 2019 5:59 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There’s more trouble for Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party. A day after two old photographs of Trudeau emerged — one of him in “brownface” and another of him in “blackface” — a third has come to light.
Trudeau publicly apologized after a 2001 image of him wearing a turban with a darkened neck, face, and hands emerged in a Time Magazine report. During his apology, the Liberal leader admitted he also dressed up “with makeup on” when he was in high school.
Things have gone from bad to worse for the @liberal_party and @JustinTrudeau.
Three pictures have now emerged from the party leader's past, appearing to show him in either brownface or blackface make-up.
The latest on @NEWS1130.
— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) September 19, 2019
However, on Thursday, Global News broadcast a brief video showing what appears to be a young Trudeau in blackface, raising his hands in the air and sticking out his tongue. Trudeau never alluded to this third instance during his apology on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Liberal Party confirmed the video is of a young Trudeau, and that it is from the “early 1990s.”
A Liberal spokesperson confirms it is @JustinTrudeau in the video obtained by Global News showing Trudeau in blackface. They tell me it is from the early 1990's #elxn43 #cdnpoli
— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) September 19, 2019
The party would not confirm if there were any other instances of racism it wished to disclose.
Meantime, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer confirmed on Thursday that his party had received the video before passing it on to “a responsible journalist.”
Scheer said the fact Trudeau didn’t mention this latest video when asked on Wednesday if there were other similar instances makes him question the Liberal leader’s sincerity.
“Now we know that there are at least three, and an apology based on a lie is not a real apology,” he said
Scheer says a concerned individual about the video brought the video to the Conservative Party and his team passed it on to a responsible journalist. Refuses to give a timeline but says he first saw the Time images last night and first saw the video this morning #elxn43 #cdnpoli
— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) September 19, 2019
Scheer added he thought Trudeau was unfit to govern.
On the campaign trail Thursday morning, NDP Jagmeet Singh was asked whether he thinks Trudeau is racist.
“I think that’s a question Canadians are going to have to answer. I can tell you that I’m deeply troubled about what this means to Canada.”
At this point, pollsters say it’s going to take a couple of days until we know if there’s any lasting damage to the Liberals’ re-election prospects.
Trudeau is set to speak at 11:15 a.m. PT.
–With files from Jamie Pulfer and The Canadian Press
