NBC contributor Frank Figliuzzi proposed the theory that President Trump had inadvertently gave a wink and a nod to white supremacists with his order to fly American flags at half-staff until Aug. 8.
Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff after the two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
“So it’s the little things and language and messaging that matters. The president said that we will fly our flags at half mast until August 8, that’s 8/8. Now I’m not going to imply that he did this deliberately, but I am using it as an example of the ignorance of the adversary that’s being demonstrated by the White House,” Figliuzzi told MSNBC on Monday. “The 88 are very significant in the Neo-Nazi and white supremacy movement.”
Figliuzzi, who was the FBI’s former assistant director for counterintelligence, said Aug. 8, or 8/8, is similar to Nazi groups using the number to say “Heil Hitler” since H is the eighth letter of the alphabet.
“So we’re going to be raising the flag back up at dusk on 8/8. No one’s thinking about this. No one’s giving him the advice or he’s rejecting the advice,” Figliuzzi said.
When he addressed the nation after the two mass shootings, where the El Paso shooter had expressed his hatred for Hispanics, Trump denounced white supremacy.
“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America,” Trump said on Monday. “Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul.”
