Before Donald Trump became president (twice), he was set to be prominently involved with the Indianapolis 500 in 2011, the 100th anniversary of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
On April 5, 2011, Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced Trump would join the list of celebrities who have driven the pace car over the years. But that never happened. Why?
Why didn’t Donald Trump drive the pace car at the Indianapolis 500?
Days before the announcement, Donald Trump told Bill O’Reilly that then-President Barack Obama “doesn’t have a birth certificate.”
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“He may have one, but there is something on that birth certificate — maybe religion, maybe it says he’s a Muslim,” Trump said.
Two days after that, Trump said on NBC that Obama’s citizenship issue could be “one of the greatest scams in the history of politics and in the history, period.”
The backlash to Trump’s selection to drive the pace car came swiftly after his comments on Obama. According to a 2016 IndyStar story on the incident, anti-Trump letters to the editor arrived at IndyStar containing words such as “embarrassment,” “shamefulness,” and “a ridiculous celebrity figure.” There was also a Facebook page made demanding that Trump be replaced.
On April 27, Trump went further.
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“The word is, according to what I’ve read, that he was a terrible student when he went to Occidental,” Trump said. “He then gets to Columbia; he then gets to Harvard. … How do you get into Harvard if you’re not a good student?”
In May, the Baptist Ministers Alliance of Indianapolis urged IMS to rescind its offer to Trump.
“A groundswell of pressure is starting to build on Indianapolis 500 officials to dump Donald Trump as pace car driver at this month’s race,” IndyStar reported in a May 3 story.
More coverage: Will President Donald Trump attend the Indy 500? ‘Open invitation’ after years of speculation
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The 500 Festival Parade weighed in on this issue as well.
“The traditional invitation to the Indy 500 pace car driver to participate in the parade is a long-standing one,” said festival representative Megan Bulla. “Please let it be clear that participation by any respective pace car driver, or anyone riding in the parade in any capacity for that matter, would never suggest that we agree with nor endorse their personal or political views.”
On May 5, Trump bowed out as the pace car driver, citing his busy schedule
“Business constraints make my appearance there, especially with the necessary practice sessions, impossible to fulfill,” Trump said. “I look forward to watching the race from New York.”
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, NASCAR champion Joey Logano, two-time reigning Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and other racing champions were at the White House in April.
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Trump touted the recent renovations at the IMS Museum and Penske’s work before saying, “I might have to get there this year.” Penske replied, saying Trump has “an open invitation.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Donald Trump didn’t drive the pace car at the 2011 Indy 500
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