Of Course There Were Nazi Flags at the Trump Boat Parade

Photos and video posted online show four men on a boat wearing swastika T-shirts and flying large Nazi flags.

October 14, 2024

Image: "What the fuck are we even doing?" Mary Trump, Trump's estranged niece and a vocal critic of the former president, wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) alongside photos of the boat with swastika flags.

A boat with large swastika flags was part of "The Ultimate Trump Boat Parade" that floated through the Jupiter inlet this past weekend. Screenshot via @MaryLTrump/X

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On Sunday, dozens of boats decked out in Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Donald Trump flags set sail for an event billed as "The Ultimate Trump Boat Parade." The flotilla met up at the Jupiter Lighthouse and sailed through Jupiter Inlet; photos shared on social media show Eric and Lara Trump shmoozing on one of the boats next to a larger-than-life-size bust of a bloodied-ear Trump.

Most of the boats at the parade were tricked out in MAGA gear, but at least one was conspicuously decorated with a different symbol: the flag of Nazi Germany.

Photos posted of the flotilla online show several men on a small boat wearing swastika T-shirts and flying Nazi and Trump flags side by side.

"What the fuck are we even doing?" Mary Trump, Trump's estranged niece and a vocal critic of the former president, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) alongside photos of the boat.

What the fuck are we even doing? pic.twitter.com/KvkR1BNOaR
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) October 14, 2024

Karoline Leavitt, press secretary for the Trump campaign, responded to New Times' request for comment with the following statement:

"Kamala’s supporters are reaching all-time lows. Social media posts show that genuine Trump supporters identified these idiots as liberal activists trying to create fake news. They clearly responded accordingly. President Trump is steadfast in the fight against bigotry, he has been a leader against anti-Semitism at home and abroad and abhors the hatred implied in these images. As President, he worked to expand the protections of the Civil Rights Act to include Americans threatened by anti-Semitism. This dangerous rhetoric is unacceptable and totally goes against everything President Trump stands for as he works to restore our nation’s greatness."

This wouldn't be the first time Trump and his campaign scapegoated left-leaning activists and/or "Antifa."

As has been its practice, the campaign provided no evidence that the swastika-flying paradegoers were "liberal activists trying to create fake news" beyond its claims of "genuine Trump supporters."

On the other hand, the @patriottakes X account shared with its half-million followers a video of the swastika-festooned craft in which shouts of "white power," "make America white again," "heil Trump," and racial slurs can be heard.

Neo-Nazis joined Lara and Eric Trump’s boat parade 24 hours ago.

They have NOT issued a denouncement. https://t.co/rQVuzyxSyD
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) October 14, 2024

Meanwhile, another Trump flotilla is planned for this weekend — this one in our very own backyard. Scheduled for October 19 and led in part by former Broward County Republican Party chair Bob Sutton, the parade will set sail from Miami and proceed up toward the Broward County line.

Alex DeLuca is a Miami New Times staff writer who focuses on news, crime, and public safety, education, and cannabis. Prior to joining New Times in June 2020, Alex worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and freelanced for The Appeal. She holds a bachelor's degree from the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

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