Time and time again President Trump has relied on fear, hatred, and racism to gain support. In turning Americans against each other, the only true winner is himself. President Trump's hateful, xenophobic policies and rhetoric have only harmed the United States by undermining the very diversity and freedom that makes our country great.
Fear
Over the past few years, President Trump's administration has manipulated less diverse areas of the U.S. through encouraging fear of the unknown. In promoting policies and narratives that tell Americans to be afraid of Muslim communities and undocumented immigrants, President Trump has used fear to gain followers who want protection from these over-exaggerated, baseless "threats to our way of life."
In 2017, Trump tried to enact his campaign-promised "Muslim ban." The original version of the ban was blocked after federal courts ruled that the executive orders were unconstitutional. Since then, the Trump Administration has supported extreme vetting of nationals from Muslim countries, limited Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for banned countries, capped refugee admissions and banned certain groups of asylum-seekers.
Trump has also developed a large portion of his campaign around the slogan "build a wall" on the basis that undocumented immigrants and asylum-seekers coming to the United States from Mexico are "bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."
Through purposefully creating a renewed fear of immigrants, he has characterized an entire group of people based solely on a few cases and sparked public outrage about the amount of immigrants coming into the country, even though more undocumented immigrants and asylum-seekers are coming to the United States because they are fleeing war, crime, or violence in their home countries.
Hatred
Trump has consistently pitted groups against one another in order to advance his own personal interests.
In March of 2019, Trump announced the imminent beginning of a transgender ban in the military. The National Center for Transgender Equality explains: "The instructions state[d]that any of the thousands of current transgender service members who come out, or is found out, after April 12 [2019] and is not willing to renounce and suppress their identity will be subject to discharge."
Veterans and those who serve in our military put their lives on the line for our freedom, and the Trump administration chose to punish some of the brave men and women who serve in the military simply because of their gender identity.
Despite statements to the contrary, there has been no research supporting the claim that transgender members of the military cost the government any significant money, and there is no legitimate reason behind this ban besides a clear hatred and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. Polls indicate a majority of Americas support transgender people's right to serve in the military.
Again, Trump has fostered and encouraged hatred of those who are different from the societal norm and has used this hatred to pander to his audience.
Racism
If you do not believe Trump is racist, you are in denial.
Trump clearly discriminates against non-white Americans. He has called places like Africa "shithole countries," attacked others just because of their race, and stereotyped entire ethnic groups and religions in order to spur support from racist areas of the U.S. When Trump told the "squad" of freshman Democratic congresswomen of color to "go back" to where they came from, his fan base was ecstatic.
Many Trump supporters say that they support him because he "doesn't worry about being politically correct." However, if choosing to be "politically correct" is choosing not to use racist, hateful slurs and phrases, then supporting a candidate who "doesn't worry about being politically correct" is supporting a candidate who makes racist comments.
There is clear, consistent evidence that Trump ran his 2016 campaign on these principles — and will run his 2020 campaign the same way.
The Walmart shooting in El Paso, Texas this weekend clearly shows how the hateful rhetoric and discriminatory policies of the Trump administration contribute to the creation of white supremacists and home-grown terrorists. The white supremacist shooter, who posted Trump-supporting messages on social media, traveled from his hometown in Dallas to El Paso because he wanted to kill Hispanic Americans. He wrote a message on the message board 8chan that explained his racist, xenophobic beliefs — including the sentence "This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas"— before killing 20 people in his attack.
This type of hatred can never be justified.
This type of violence can never be justified.
The comments that Donald Trump makes and the hatred, fear, and racism that stand as the defining aspects of his platform are damaging our country and killing our citizens.
I urge you: If you are an independent or a Democrat, get out and vote. Support a candidate who does not rely on xenophobia and hatred to get ahead. Think about the marginalized groups that Trump has attacked and targeted and vote to protect them.
And if you are a Republican, do not justify Trump's racism and hateful messages because he claims to be a Republican. No matter your political party, don't allow Trump to incite this type of hatred and violence for another four years.
