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The Democrat frontrunner in one of this year’s top Senate races is no stranger to controversy.
Rep. David Trone – who is running to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin in Maryland and faces a tough primary challenge on Tuesday – has frequently been caught making some truly wild statements, both as a candidate and member of Congress, as well as while working in the private sector.
From using a racial slur, to allegedly threatening to “execute” someone, here are five of Trone’s wackiest moments:
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Rep. David Trone yelled at a reporter for pressing him on a controversial tweet he posted about the police. (Screenshot/Fox 5)
1. Using a racial slur during a House hearing
Trone dropped a disparaging term for Black people while speaking during a House Budget Committee hearing about tax policy on March 21 with Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Budget and Management, who was testifying before the committee.
“So this Republican jigaboo that – it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business,” he said. “They’ve never been there. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.”
Trone attempted to play cleanup following his use of the word, telling Fox News Digital he misspoke while trying to use a different word.
“Today while attempting to use the word ‘bugaboo’ in a hearing, I used a phrase that is offensive. That word has a long, dark, terrible history. It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation,” Trone said.
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Video“I recognize that as a White man, I have privilege. And as an elected official, I have a responsibility for the words I use – especially in the heat of the moment. Regardless of what I meant to say, I shouldn’t have used that language,” he added.
A number of Black lawmakers subsequently chose not to endorse him, including Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who all announced their support for Trone’s Democratic primary opponent, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.
2. Screaming at a reporter when pressed on controversial remarks
Trone went off last week on a reporter who pressed him concerning a controversial remark he made on social media about police.
The tense exhange between Trone and Fox 5 reporter Tom Fitzgerald happened during a campaign stop in Rockville, Maryland, when Trone expressed his anger about the outlet’s reporting from the previous day on his claim that an “increased police presence” doesn’t make people feel safe.
“You should be ashamed of the journalism that you did yesterday,” Trone said as he approached the reporter who had just asked him about his widely panned X post focused on crime and policing. In the post, Trone claimed the American justice system is “systemically racist,” and that an “increased police presence” doesn’t “make everyone feel safer.”
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“I should be ashamed? I’m not ashamed, congressman,” Fitzgerald responded before Trone accused him of cherry-picking lines out of the post.
“You took one line out of 20, and you should be ashamed of that type of journalism… You’re shilling for Larry Hogan, so keep shilling for Larry Hogan,” Trone railed against Fitzgerald, accusing him of advocating for his rival, former Republican Maryland Gov. Hogan, who is also running for Senate.
Video“If you want to do that, feel free to shill. That’s all I’ve got to say. Go back and read the whole section of tweets. It was very supportive of our police,” Trone said.
Fitzgerald responded that he did read the entire tweet thread, but Trone, before walking away, simply shot back, “You didn’t. You didn’t, and you’re just making it up. You’re just making it up, so thank you.”
3. Allegedly threatening to ‘execute’ delivery worker
Trone allegedly threatened to “execute” a delivery worker at a Total Wine in Tempe, Arizona, according to a 2021 police report first reported by The Spectator last year.
The congressman, who made millions as a co-founder of the retailer, allegedly threatened to “f—ing end” deliveryman Cody Huard while he was making a delivery at the location, the outlet reported.
Huard called the police after a heated confrontation with Trone, who was allegedly upset that merchandise was stacked on the floor.
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Total Wine Spirits Beer & More store in Miami Beach, Florida. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“I will f—ing end you,” “I will execute you,” “you’re not on my payroll, I will end you right now,” Trone said, according to the report.
Eyewitnesses confirmed Trone “yelled at” and “threatened” the man, but it’s unclear if he was charged in the incident.
4. Citing family’s alcoholism, lack of indoor plumbing to relate to Black voters
Trone told a local reporter on Monday that he relates to Black voters because of his family’s struggles with alcoholism and because he grew up without indoor plumbing.
“We need someone who actually speaks for us, someone who has our values – I went to public school, she went to private school – someone that lived the life they did. I didn’t even have indoor plumbing. We had an outhouse,” Trone said, taking a jab at Alsobrooks, who is Black.
“I grew up in a family that was destroyed by alcoholism. Destroyed. So, we grew up in a tough circumstance, and things weren’t easy. But, at the end of the day, we became successful,” he added.
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The reporter asked Trone if that was the story he believed would help him resonate with Black voters, to which he said, “Clearly.”
5. Berating campaign staff over scheduling issue
Trone blasted members of his campaign staff in 2017 over a scheduling issue, local Maryland outlet A Miner Detail reported in June the following year.
Campaign staffers leaked the email, which showed Trone accusing them of being “insubordinate,” and him upset that his wife, June, was asked to attend an event by then-campaign policy director Grace Rivera-Oven that he determined was a waste of her time.
“Grace explained to her Thursday that she should attend and that she is needed and therefore she got up at 6:00 a.m. with me, went to the breakfast against my direct request to you guys,” Trone wrote. “While I certainly could have left her home, I allowed her to go, given you felt so strongly about it.”
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Democratic Maryland Senate candidates Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone (Getty Images)
“The way it has to work in life is if the boss says we are not doing something, we don’t do it,” he wrote. “If you disagree, that is great, contact the boss, tell him your reasons, and I am happy to change my mind, but it is passive-aggressive, it is wrong, it is insubordinate for you to do whatever you want, and even more so when it comes to someone who is my life.”
Trone later suggested his staff could “use a little common sense and courtesy and decency and good communication skills.”
Rivera-Oven later resigned from the campaign.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Trone’s campaign for comment.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on X at @BGillespieAL.
