Tech CEO Drops Trump’s Name During Viral Racist Tirade: ‘Trump’s Gonna F*** You!’
Michael Lofthouse — CEO of tech firm Solid8 — was caught on video delivering a racist tirade in which he invoked the name of President Donald Trump, calling one member of a family of diners “Fucking Asian piece of shit,” and telling them “Trump’s going to fuck you!”
In video that was filmed at a family birthday celebration and posted to Instagram by Jordan Chan, Lofthouse sits silently as Chan dares him to “Say that again,” urging him to repeat what he’d said prior to the start of the filming.
“We were celebrating my tita’s birthday, literally just singing happy birthday to her and taking pictures, when this white supremacist starts yelling disgusting racist remarks at us. (“Fuck you Asians” “Go back to whatever fucking Asian country you’re from” “You don’t belong here”),” Chan wrote on Instagram.
Lofthouse then gives Chan the middle finger, and then tells the family “You fucking need to leave.”
As a restaurant staffer ejects Lofthouse and tells him he’s banned for life, Lofthouse tells the family “Trump’s gonna fuck you. You fuckers need to leave. Fucking Asian piece of shit.”
The connection to Trump was not lost on Chan, who also wrote “The fact that Donald Trump is our president (i.e. THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD) gives racists a platform and amplifies voices of hate. The surfacing of racists is so prevalent right now, even in such an ethnically/culturally diverse and liberal state like California, because Trump HIMSELF uses his position to incite racial tension and to promote aggression towards POC, foreigners, and immigrants. We need change!”
Lofthouse was quickly identified, and later issued a statement to local San Francisco station KGO-TV apologizing to the family:
My behavior in the video is appalling. This was clearly a moment where I lost control and made incredibly hurtful and divisive comments. I would like to deeply apologize to the Chan family. I can only imagine the stress and pain they feel. I was taught to respect people of all races, and I will take the time to reflect on my actions and work to better understand the inequality that so many of those around me face every day.
Trump has ramped up his use of racial grievance of late by defending the Confederate flag against NASCAR’s decision to ban the symbol and attacking the organization’s only Black driver, Bubba Wallace.
And after a brief hiatus, Trump has resumed referring to the coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” and the “Kung Flu” — a designation that his own White House counselor once considered racist.
Watch the video above via Jordan Chan/Instagram.
