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New anti-Trump billboard appears on I-94 — in Arabic

posted on: Oct 18, 2016

A billboard on westbound I-94 entering Dearborn translates to “Donald Trump, he can’t read this, but he is afraid of it” and was posted by the Nuisance Committee Super PAC.


Detroit Free Press

On a black billboard along westbound I-94 entering Dearborn, white Arabic lettering sits next to these words in English:  “Donald Trump.”

Unlike English, though, Arabic is read right to left. The billboard translated reads: “Donald Trump, he can’t read this, but he is afraid of it.”

The billboard posted last weekend is funded by the Nuisance Committee super PAC, which was started by the creator of the Cards Against Humanity card game. It has raised more than $410,000 through a satirical fund-raising campaign, and the billboard is unique among three others the group has posted across the country.

“We came up with it because we believe that Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric is not based on reality. It’s based in fear,” Nuisance Committee spokeswoman Melissa Harris said of the Republican presidential nominee. “And we think that irrational fear is what’s driving his anti-immigrant message.”

She said Dearborn was selected because of its high population of Arab Americans in a swing state. They’re hoping the message spurs conversation, with people reaching out to Arabic speakers to ask what it means, Harris said.

The billboard cost the group $4,850, and will remain posted through Nov. 8, she said, which is Election Day. About 331,539 people drive by the billboard between Detroit and Dearborn each week.

Trump has said that he wants a temporary ban on or “extreme vetting” of Muslims entering the U.S.

A website, trumpisscared.org, is listed on the billboard and includes what are said to be Trump’s previous statements regarding Muslims. The super PAC was named by Cards Against Humanity co-creator Max Temkin as a tribute to his grandfather, Ira Weinstein, who was shot down over Germany during World War II and became a prisoner of war.

“There, Ira and other Jewish POWs banded together to form a ‘Nuisance Committee’ to irritate their captors in ways that wouldn’t get them shot,” Harris said in an e-mail. “The comparison between Trump and Hitler is intentional.”

Cards Against Humanity is a popular game describing itself as “a party game for horrible people. Each round, one player asks a question from a Black Card, and everyone else answers with their funniest White Card,” according to its website.

The fund-raiser involves sales expansion sets themed for Trump or Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, with people voting with which pack they order. As of Monday, the Clinton-themed packs had raised $210,928 while the Trump-themed ones had raised $200,716.

At the end of the promotion, “depending on which pack gets more support, we will donate all the money in support of Hillary Clinton,” according to the website.