On race, Trump’s apologists, including those in “respectable” conservative quarters, insist — despite his rhetoric (e.g., “shithole countries,” “very fine people on both sides”) and downplaying endemic racism in policing — that we cannot assume he is a racist. We also are expected to ignore, one supposes, his vendetta against the Central Park Five, his real estate company’s history of discrimination and his failure to appoint a single African American to the circuit courts or the Supreme Court. His slurs against Black female prosecutors and vivid social media posting showing him attacking Black Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg get brushed off by his supporters, who portray him as the real victim.
The media periodically does cover his abjectly racist language, as when he quoted Adolf Hitler on blood purity. Then, voters not entirely cocooned within the right-wing media bubble realize he and his party abhor fundamental American principles. But soon, journalists contend with straight faces that Trump has a real shot to win over large numbers of African American voters. That assumes such voters are as easily bamboozled as the red-hat-wearing cultists.
And before long, defying attempts to normalize him, Trump opens his mouth to spew forth a string of mind-boggling racist remarks, leaving his apologists with egg on their faces. He insisted in a speech last week in South Carolina that his indictments and mug shots are why “a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me.” He also proclaimed: “These lights are so bright in my eyes that I can’t see too many people out there. But I can only see the Black ones, I can’t see any White ones, you see, that’s how far I’ve come.” He persisted: “That’s how far I’ve come. That’s a long way, isn’t it? These lights. We’ve come a long way together.” Such casual racism wins plaudits with the white-nationalist crowd but reveals his true mind-set.
Likewise, he left no doubt about his noxious bigotry toward immigrants at his unhinged rant at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “They’re coming from Asia, they’re coming from the Middle East, coming from all over the world, coming from Africa, and we’re not going to stand for it. They’re destroying our country,” he said. “We have languages coming into our country … they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a horrible thing.” His plan to round up and deport millions of undocumented immigrants goes hand in hand with his effort to dehumanize them.
And, finally, voters should not forget his persistent efforts to disenfranchise non-White voters. He tried in 2020 to throw out millions of African American votes and vilified two African American poll workers in an effort to steal votes in Georgia. He still rails against mail-in voting (which allows many low-income workers to vote without missing work). And he now accuses Democrats of preparing to let illegal immigrants vote, foreshadowing future claims of fraud and harking back to baseless claims he won the popular vote in 2016 (despite “millions” of illegal votes, he insisted).
In sum, MAGA is a movement largely for and by white Christian nationalists who insist they are the “real” Americans. Mainstream media outlets seem disinclined to devote sustained coverage to Trump’s racist outlook and his party’s coddling of white nationalists. It will be up to Democrats to remind voters: Trump is the champion of white supremacy.
Distinguished people of the week
Mainstream journalists refuse to cover Trump’s mental and emotional defects with anything remotely approaching the fervor they show about exploring the effects of President Biden’s age. The New York Times headlined Trump’s outing at CPAC as “Trump invokes clashing visions of America.” One would have thought he was presenting a political science paper on the decline of the…
Read More: Opinion | Newsletter: Voters cannot ignore Trump’s racism