Daily Beast Editor Calls for Boycott of 'Fascist' Trump's Brands

The executive editor of the Daily Beast website has called for a boycott of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's companies and a public shaming of those who do business with him.

Noah Shachtman took to Twitter Sunday evening to excoriate Trump in the wake of his alleged recent comments calling for a national database of Muslims:

Let's get real: if you're renting in a Trump building or playing a round of golf at a Trump resort, you are supporting racism & neo-fascism.

— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) November 22, 2015

Seems to me it's time for a boycott of Trump's businesses - and a public calling out of those who choose to work with him.

— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) November 22, 2015

6 months ago, you could say you were doing business w Trump w/o endorsing his views. 8,000 racist moments later, that's no longer feasible.

— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) November 23, 2015

Today, if you rent a room at a Trump Hotel, you're making a statement - a choice to be pro-racist, pro-fascist.

— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) November 23, 2015

Glenn Beck's The Blaze website reported on the tweets Sunday night.

Daily Beast editor-in-chief John Avlon, who also notes on his Twitter page that he is a "CNN analyst," on Monday defended Shachtman's tirade with a series of tweets himself, taking swipes at both Trump and Beck in the process:

First, all Beasts are entitled to their own opinion on social media.

— John Avlon (@JohnAvlon) November 23, 2015

Second, a core part of our mission is to stand up to bullies, bigots and hypocrites.

— John Avlon (@JohnAvlon) November 23, 2015

Third, we sure as hell aren't going to get lectured on journalistic ethics by a site run by a professional polarizer like Glenn Beck.

— John Avlon (@JohnAvlon) November 23, 2015

Avlon states the Daily Beast's distaste for "bigots" and "polarizers" but his website has no problem running the columns of a writer who raises funds for a Muslim organization with reported ties to terrorist groups.

Breitbart.com reports that Dean Obeidallah, who writes a regular opinion column for the Daily Beast, headlined a fundraiser last month for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"The CAIR group is so closely entwined with Islamists and with jihadis that court documents and news reports show that at least five of its people — either board members, employees or former employees — have been jailed or repatriated to the United States for various financial and terror-related offenses," Breitbart's Neil Munro reports.

Munro notes that Obeidallah made a YouTube video to drum up ticket sales for the fundraiser:

"I'm comedian Dean Obeidallah, and I'm really looking forward to performing this Saturday, October 17, at CAIR's 21st anniversary banquet in Arlington, Virginia."

"It's a great event for a great cause, to help CAIR with their important work, so I hope to see you there, Inshallah… get your tickets right now," Obeidallah said in his video.

The term 'inshallah' is Arabic for "Allah willing."

The Daily Beast expressed its support for Obeidallah, Breitbart reports.

"Dean Obeidallah is a fantastic writer with an original voice," the website's Washington Bureau Chief Will Rahn said, Munro writes.

"We're proud to publish his opinion columns."

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