HUD’s Castro Stirs Pedophile Claims Against Trump

The already unpleasant presidential election hit a new low this morning as President Obama’s housing policy leader went to Facebook to highlight a tabloid newspaper’s charges that Republican nominee Donald Trump is a pedophile.

U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro used his Facebook account to run a photograph of the front page of the New York Daily News featuring headline text that reads “Tawdry Trump Scandal Explodes” along with a unflattering photograph of Trump next to the text “Had Eyes for a 10-Year-Old.” Castro capped the posting with the message “The front page of tomorrow's New York Daily News. So who's still supporting him?”

Castro has been a longtime supporter of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and during the primaries endorsed her over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a precedent-breaking example of an incumbent member of a presidential cabinet getting involved in a partisan race. This July, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) filed a report charging Castro with violating the Hatch Act during an April 4 interview with Katie Couric for Yahoo! News—during the interview, a conversation on HUD policy shifted as Castro used the interview to champion Clinton and denounce Trump. President Obama opted not to reprimand Castro, stating his apology for the lapse was acceptable.