Trump–The Grand Wizard. Photo: Gage Skidmore-Flickr
[Commentary]
The Washington Post reported on January 11, 2018 that Donald Trump said: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”
Trump was referring to African countries and Haiti. He also suggested that the U.S. instead bring more people from countries like Norway, whose prime minister he met with the previous day.
When someone tells you who they are you should believe them. President Donald Trump has once again made it very clear; he is a racist. Before he decided to insult Haitians and immigrants from African countries he efficiently targeted Mexican’s and African Americans in the same Tweet, “Sadly, the overwhelming amount of violent crime in our major cities is committed by blacks and Hispanics…” We can never forget one of Trump’s most infamous forays into bigotry, “When Mexico sends it people, they’re not sending their best…They’re bringing drugs…They’re rapists.”
The late Dr. Francis Cress Welsing defined racism/White Supremacy as, “The local and global power system structured and maintained by persons who classify themselves as White…This system consists of patterns of perception…thought, speech, action and emotional response…” Trump’s historic patters of thought expressed through his words, actions and policies fit this definition to a “t”.
When someone tells you who they are you should believe them. President Donald Trump is also a sexual predator. Again, the well-publicized foray into misogyny, “You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them…I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything…Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”
When someone tells you who they are you should believe them. President Donald Trump is a liar. According to The New York Times, after admitting that the voice on the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape was his and making a feeble attempt to apologize for it, “Mr. Trump told a Republican senator that he wanted to investigate the recording that had him boasting about grabbing women’s genitals. “We don’t think that was my voice…”
This recent demonstration of Trump’s racism has many people shocked but few are surprised. Most of us are just disgusted. It is interesting to watch those hacks at FOX News attempt to spin this into a them vs. us or partisan creation “…to distract Americans from Trump’s accomplishments”.
America, the international global hegemon, the waning empire – finds itself dealing with the reality that its president has once again inferred that he sees Europeans as superior and people of color as inferior, “…the United States should instead bring more people from countries like Norway.” He sees people of color as “other”. It is a “us vs. them” binary world. Racist rhetoric is the language of racists. When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
This “Trumpian” mindset is not new. During WWII President Roosevelt was asked why Italian Americans were not being interned like Japanese Americans, he replied, “I don’t care about the Italians…They are a lot of opera singers…” The Japanese Americans were “other”, Italian Americans being of European decent were like him. Even though Italian and German Americans did suffer indignities, they were never interned and mistreated like Japanese Americans.
As I have listened to the debate about Trump’s latest comments, many pundits and analysts are outraged about his “shithole country” reference. However, few are asking the more fundamental question, “what made these countries “shitholes” (and not to say that they really are)?” The answer, American foreign policy and European settler colonialism. Haiti struggles to this day simply because after the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) it was the first Black republic in the world to overthrow a European power. America and France never want Haiti to be the shining example of successful liberation and freedom that it should be. People should be asking the Clinton Foundation what happened to the $13B in aid that went to Haiti after the earthquake.
Mineral and resource rich African countries such as Zimbabwe and Congo will never be allowed to organically develop. They will always be oppressed by America and European forces because these colonists and neo-colonialists will never allow the strategic minerals held in these countries to be controlled by Africans.
Another question to ask is where is the outrage from Republican leadership? When engaged in analysis historical context is very important. Trump and his base did not develop in a vacuum. Sen.’s McConnell and Graham, et al’s failure to condemn Trump’s “shithole” comment is consistent. They were conspicuously silent in 2010 when Tea Party members spat on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver called Rep. John Lewis a “nigger” and Rep. Barney Frank a “faggot.” Their inability to condemn Trump is not necessarily because they agree with him (even though in my opinion they probably do) it’s because they are afraid. They fear what Dr. King called “the white backlash” and what Dr. Walters called “the politics of resentment” They fear the well-financed echo chamber called The Tea Party and the Freedom Caucus.
The ethnic demographics of America are changing. This change is striking fear in the hearts of many White Americans. Looking back at the rhetoric it is even easier to see that when Trump discusses “protecting the American worker” and bringing in highly educated wealthier “English speakers” with “higher job skills” he’s is speaking to White people about White people. Therefore, even though many Americans are appalled by Trump’s latest raciest display, the White House is defending it. According to CNN, “The President’s ‘shithole’ remark is being received much differently inside of the White House than it is outside of it. Though this might enrage Washington, staffers predict the comment will resonate with his base, much like his attacks on NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem did not alienate it.”
As we move closer to the 2018 mid-term elections the ideological lines are becoming clearer and clearer. Just when the good people of Alabama dispatched the alleged petafile Roy Moore, Arizonians will now be faced with the anti-immigrant, racial profiler and birther Joe Arpaio and his bid for the US Senate. These mid-terms will be a true litmus test. Will the bigotry and hatred of Trump’s base continue to carry the day, wreak havoc on our system of justice and control the Republican Party? Or, will people of good conscience and good will come to the polls in record numbers to reject Trump’s politics of racism and hate in an effort to truly Make America Great Again instead of making America White again?
People have been apologizing for Trump since he announced his candidacy, saying, “he’s not a politician” and “it will just take time for him to grow into being presidential”. This is the same guy who was sued by the DOJ in 1973 for housing discrimination. He had his employees secretly mark the applications of minorities with codes, such as “No. 9” and “C” for “colored,” according to government accounts filed in federal court.
I have always known, when someone tells you who they are, believe them. The key is to act on what they tell you.
Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Leon,” on SiriusXM Satellite radio channel 126. Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email: [email protected].
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