‘Humans of New York’ creator takes on Trump in open letter: ‘the hateful one is you’

The creator of the blog and bestselling book Humans of New York attacked U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in an open letter on Monday, condemning the billionaire’s violent rhetoric.

Brandon Stanton published the open letter on his popular Facebook page Monday, and in it described Trump as “a man who has encouraged prejudice and violence in the pursuit of personal power.”

“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,” Stanton wrote.

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Stanton’s letter comes just days after a riot broke out in Chicago after Trump cancelled a rally amid violent altercations among his supporters and protesters who successfully shut down the event.

Over the weekend, another rally got violent in Kansas City between Trump supporters and protesters, to the point where police used pepper spray to disperse the angry crowd.

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“I’ve watched you retweet racist images. I’ve watched you retweet racist lies. I’ve watched you take 48 hours to disavow white supremacy,” Stanton wrote. “I’ve watched you joyfully encourage violence, and promise to ‘pay the legal fees’ of those who commit violence on your behalf.”

Last month, David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard put his support behind Trump by saying a vote cast for anyone but the real estate mogul is “treason to your heritage.”

READ MORE: Donald Trump stands by campaign rhetoric amid violence at rallies

Trump has also raised ire over comments about creating a registry of Muslims and insinuating that Mexican immigrants are criminals and rapists during his run for presidency.

Stanton addressed Trump’s views towards Muslims and refugees.

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“I am a journalist, Mr. Trump. And over the last two years I have conducted extensive interviews with hundreds of Muslims, chosen at random, on the streets of Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan,” Stanton wrote. “I’ve also interviewed hundreds of Syrian and Iraqi refugees across seven different countries. And I can confirm— the hateful one is you.”

On Sunday, Trump tried to tone down his supporters following the violence.

“We’re not provoking. We want peace. … We don’t want trouble,” Trump told a crowd in Illinois.

–with a file from the Associated Press