Racist Trump Rally Crowd Slammed After Booing Fallen Las Vegas Police Officer Simply Because Of His Name

For a group that got one of their favorite slogans directly from one of the oldest and most infamous white supremacist organizations in the United States, most MAGA members still bristle at being called "racist."

Yet time and time again, their leaders get tied to Christian nationalist, white supremacist organizations like the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and the Heritage Foundation.

Knowing the Ku Klux Klan popularized "America First" didn't deter its usage among MAGA Republicans, their supporters, and MAGA rally-goers, even after the fact was pointed out repeatedly.

Openly racist, bigoted, and xenophobic rhetoric, propaganda, and policies are routine for the Trump administration, and feature prominently in MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's endless rallies. So it should be unsurprising that when a MAGA crowd hears a name that doesn't sound like it belongs to a white person, they automatically erupt in loud boos and other jeers.

At a MAGA rally at the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 5, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo tried to get the crowd of Trump supporters to observe a moment of silence for Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Officer Austin Abdelnabi, who was killed in the line of duty the day before.

Abdelnabi, a 30-year-old Marine Corps veteran, was ambushed and shot eight times as he exited his vehicle after responding to a call about a man brandishing a gun.

Knowing Pastor Matt Teis had mentioned Abdelnabi's death during his invocation, Governor Lombardo said:

"So I know Pastor Teis, uh, spoke about Officer Abdelnabi a few moments ago..."

But as soon as the officer's name, Abdelnabi, was said, the MAGA crowd began to loudly boo, likely expecting the typical vilification of non-white or Muslim or LGBTQ+ people or immigrants or women that are heavily featured in every MAGA rally where participants know or are prompted to chant slogans or boo the enemies of Trump.

You can watch the moment Officer Abdelnabi is booed by the MAGA crowd here:

Lombardo immediately tried to let the crowd know Abdelnabi wasn't one of Trump's enemies they were supposed to boo on cue.

The Republican governor said:

"No, no, we’re not booing. We’re not booing him. He’s the officer that passed away here recently."

Lombardo then added:

"So, and I asked [Pastor Teis], I asked if, uh, we had a moment of silence, and he said we had not."

Then, Lombardo made his request, but used only Officer Abdelnabi's white-coded first name, Austin, this time, saying:

"So I would like your indulgence for a moment of silence for Officer Austin."

The very telling moment and Lombardo's shift from using Officer Abdelnabi's Arabic-sounding last name to just his first name, went viral across social media.

People found it further evidence of MAGA's core white supremacist, Christian nationalist values and goals.

UFC CEO Dana White introduced the POTUS.

When Trump took the podium, he spoke for about an hour. Among the highlights were his desire to fire the "Republican" Supreme Court justices who uphold the United States Constitution, but don't give him everything he wants. Trump also claimed people who own electric vehicles have a "disease."

In what was supposed to be an attempt to bolster support for GOP candidates in the state, Trump mentioned only two candidates by name according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. Both were Democrats and both were BIPOC.

The POTUS name-dropped Abdul El-Sayed, the presumed Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan, and Francesca Hong, a Democratic nominee for Wisconsin governor.

Neither candidate has any bearing on Nevada, where four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and the governor's office are up for grabs in November. The governor is a member of the GOP while Democrats currently hold three of the four House seats.