Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Are Courting Rev. Al Sharpton And His National Action Network (Nan) As They Jockey For Support In The Increasingly Crowded 2020 Primary Field — Ignoring Sharpton’s Controversial History.
Former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg both joined Sharpton and NAN for a breakfast in Washington, DC, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday morning.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has attended several Sharpton/NAN events, including a post-election meeting held by NAN on Capitol Hill in November, and a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day rallies in New York in 2018 and 2019:
Top contender Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) also attended the post-election meeting on Capitol Hill last November
Sharpton has a long history of controversial racial rhetoric. In the notorious Tawana Brawley case in 1987, Sharpton backed a teenager’s false accusations of rape, stirring racial divisions in New York and across the country. When he was successfully sued for defamation, he refused to pay the judgement, and supporters had to step in on his behalf. Sharpton still refuses to apologize for his role. – READ MORE