Another day, another racist rant
Here’s Trump:
Is Trump getting even worse? Is that even possible?
Three of the four Congresswomen attacked by Trump are not even immigrants:
The nativist rhetoric, “go back to your country,” is often used in racist, Xenophobic and Islamophobic attacks, including a recent hate crime in New York City last week where a Hispanic woman was attacked and told, “You’re here taking jobs from Americans.” . . .
The four progressives included Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. The women of color were born in the United States, except for Omar who became a refugee in 1991 when a brutal civil war devastated Somalia, a predominantly Muslim country in East Africa, where at least one American among the 27 died in a terrorist attack Saturday.
It’s true that millions of Trump supporters are not racist. But it’s also true that those Americans who do hate Muslims and Mexicans and other immigrants absolutely love Trump. They adore him. Why is that?
Perhaps these racists misunderstand Trump when he tells women of color who were born in America to go back to their own country. Perhaps it’s all just a terrible misunderstanding.
Tags:
14. July 2019 at 08:38
I find identity politics offensive. Sad to say, identity politics has become the Democratic Party stock-in-trade, and Trump is answering every volley in kind.
14. July 2019 at 08:45
What’s been revealed in the past 11-12 years is the degree of racism in America and worse, the willingness of one political party to exploit racism to attain and maintain power. What’s worse: “the millions of Trump supporters (who) are not racist” but support Trump because they don’t know any better or the political elites who know better but exploit racism anyway. Or closer to home, the large number of economists who have been willing to sell their souls in order to promote their careers. Sumner, to his eternal credit, has maintained his personal and professional integrity, even though it has likely cost him an appointment to the Fed.
14. July 2019 at 09:29
Rayward, I’d like to take credit, but there has been precisely zero personal price to be paid for my opposition to Trump. And serving at the Fed is a fantasy. I never would have been nominated for the Fed, Congress never would have approved me if nominated, and I never would have agreed to serve if approved.
14. July 2019 at 10:59
(1) Mexican nor Islam is a race
(2) @Rayward: Are you with a straight face really asserting the Democratic Party hasn’t exploited racism for decades.
14. July 2019 at 11:20
I agree with B Cole. We’re reaping the rewards of allowing the pervasive anti-white racism to go on in the Demorat party for a very long time. Trump is answering back in kind.
14. July 2019 at 12:21
Scott,
Another clear example of your Trump derangement syndrome. Trump said the congresswomen “came from countries whose government’s are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept…” and he is clearly referring to his own administration here. He therefore reveals he is completely self-aware.This might be his best moment yet. 🙂
In all seriousness, this strikes me as slightly hurting his re-election chances in contrast to 95%+ of other stupid things he tweets/says as it affirms the negative image of him as racist. It’s similar to Romney’s “47%” comment or Obama’s “guns and religion” which played perfectly with how critics portrayed them.
14. July 2019 at 12:35
Peter, That’s your defense? Well then, Trump is merely a bigot.
14. July 2019 at 12:42
Benjamin,
What Trump tweeted is appalling. Blaming his behavior on identity politics is willfully looking the other way. Or maybe it’s subconscious. Either way it’s not a great look. I’m not trying to be mean because I don’t think you are a bad guy.. I just think you should reflect on it.
14. July 2019 at 14:08
JC2, You said:
“Trump is answering back in kind.”
So Trump has the maturity of a 4th grader? That’s a pretty harsh thing to say about the President of the United States.
14. July 2019 at 14:23
I think Trump’s strategy is relatively clever (by his standards): he chooses the most extreme members of the Democratic Party and then attacks them offensively.
You can talk about the details (how exactly does he carry out the attacks, there could be room for improvement), but overall I doubt that this specific strategy will hurt him. I saw him as a clear loser against Hillary at the time, but since he won so surprisingly, you also have to assume that he knows what he’s doing somehow.
Trump seems to know that for many voters it’s really about America’s identity and that voters might see Ilhan Omar as his counterpart. She is also an ideal target for Trump as an individual, because like Trump she loves to bend the facts to fit her agenda. The same can be said about AOC.
Both sides pretend to hold opposing positions, but in my opinion people like Trump, AOC, Olmar are actually very similar, they are all illiberal, but they would never admit that. All these pseudo contrasts and show fights are in their common interest.
As Trump, I would just wait until the Democrats have elected their candidate. I guess Harris or Warren would be ideal from Trump’s perspective. But Trump seems to be impatient. He doesn’t want to miss a single fight. I think he watches Tucker Carlson quite often and then gets pretty angry on a regular basis.
More like an angry teenager. But the angry teenage years seem to expand more and more, with a focus now on the ages between 29-35 and 70-80.
14. July 2019 at 14:31
I think you will find it hard pressed to claim Trump is uniquely bigoted among politicians or the public plus nationalism can be misidentified. Note the rabid anti-Russian bigotry that has obsessed the DNC leaders and left going back to President Clinton but even more so since Trump’s election. Shall we talk about Chinese, North Korean, Iranian bigotry? My granddaughter is Russian in the leftist left of places, Hawaii, and routinely discriminated against for being Russian and her ethnic and national identity routinely attacked by Progressives even in the public schools. If we are asserting, as you are nationalism is bigotry well I guess most people in the world are bigots by virtue of have borders at all.
As for religion, get back to me when AOC open condones Satanism and makes it a campaign talking point about her support of people who follow the Church of Jesus Christ – Christian.
TBH I would wager Trump is less bigoted than most people attacking him, he simply has the gall to speak openly and use hyperbole.
14. July 2019 at 15:02
I don’t think there’s any equivalence between the Democrats and Trump’s comments. Has any leading Democratic politician ever told a white Republican politician to go back to Europe?
There is certainly an identity politics fringe in the Democratic Party, as one would imagine from any political party that represents tens of millions of people, but it is both less influential and less extreme than the identitarian strain within the Republican Party.
14. July 2019 at 15:38
Peter,
I think that remains Trump’s scheme: to say things that are borderline (or beyond) but reach his voters (at least in his opinion). This method may have won him the election. I’m not sure myself, maybe Hillary was just really weak. We may see in 2020 which theory is more correct.
14. July 2019 at 16:33
It is an odd sort of racism that does not actually refer to, or invoke, race. If he had said “the families of these women can here because their societies were disasters and yet they now want to undermine what makes America great, a place their families so wanted to come to, so if they really want to do great things, how about fixing up where their families came from”, it would have been hard to claim any racism involved. But that is not pithy and doesn’t scan. So he Trumpified it.
It is offensive to imply that folk born in the US have another country that they “really” belong to. But again, not sure that is racist as such. Xenophobic and nativist, yes. A form of bigotry, yes. But not racist as such.
Also not sure it will play well among, say, Hispanic voters.
14. July 2019 at 16:34
I agree with the sentiments expressed in this post and like rayward applaud Sumner for calling out this kind of BS.
14. July 2019 at 17:01
Do we know the context for his tweet? Do we know who he is referring to? Or is it just another covfefe-tweet? I bet he saw Ilhan Omar on his favorite channel Fox, and then he lost it.
rayward,
Let’s assume you’re right. But then Scott made a huge mistake. I thought Scott was a utilitarian? But then he should have taken the Fed job and do a lot of good with its power.
14. July 2019 at 18:48
Bob at 12:42:
I am not defending Trump on this score. I said all identity politics is offensive, whether by dog-whistle or overtly.
I do defend on Trump when he lambastes the Fed for being too tight, or when he signals he would like to get out of Mideast-Afghanistan, or meets (however fruitlessly) with North Koreans, and I even give luke-warm support to his corporate income tax cut (I would have preferred a tripling of the standard deduction).
Whatever one says about Trump, he has avoided the LBJ-Nixon-Bush jr. gigantic scale of foreign-policy mistakes (Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan).
I contend that any leader in a polyglot society must always incline towards defusing identity politics and tensions. Trump has failed at this. On the other hand, the US media and blogosphere evidently tolerate congresspeople who define themselves publicly and overtly, and seemingly even primarily, as “women of color.”
What if Trump said, “What AOC does not like about me is that I am a proud white man, and I am here to stay.”?
Would anyone pompously lecture black South Africans that they should have been and should be much more receptive to non-white immigrants who would enliven their culture, bring diversity and improve the economy?
Trump is offensive, AOC less so…but only usually.
14. July 2019 at 19:27
Lorenzo, You can certainly argue about what sort of bigotry he appeals to, but in the end it doesn’t much matter. I would add that in America, race is definitely a factor in bigotry against Mexicans, Muslims, etc. It’s not the only factor, but a Mexican immigrant that looks European is perceived very differently from a Mexican immigrant that looks like a descendant of Mayan Indians. Brown skinned Muslims are perceive differently from European looking Muslims. That’s just the reality of the situation.
I can assure you that Trump and many of his supporters feel very differently about white immigrants to the US from “shit hole countries” such as South Africa than black immigrants from the same countries, even if the blacks have PhDs.
14. July 2019 at 19:57
This is like telling Taiwanese that they should go back to being Chinese….
15. July 2019 at 02:05
So in the beginning it was a nice divide between Nancy Pelosi and The Squad (TM), but Trump basically brought them back together. That’s really smart. More blunders like this in the months to come and he might lose the election.
Unfortunately, the political content is also lost because of these show fights. What was it all about, what exactly is written in the laws? This is no longer an issue. But I think this plays into his hands again. Contents and laws are not his thing. The more he can distract from that, the better for him.
15. July 2019 at 02:43
@ssumner: And I can assure you AOC, Omar, and many Trump detractors feel the same. Let’s disallow all non-mestizo immigration from Mexico while allowing unlimited Mestizo immigration and see how silent Trump detractors quickly get about Mexican immigration or the blatant racism against white Mexicans. Ditto let’s allow unlimited Muslim immigration while prohibiting Aleph. Shall we take bets how fast AOC and Omar fall silent on religious and nationalist immigration. Neither of them give a rats ass about religious, racial, or national origin immigration; they care about red meat and pandering to their own while wrapping themselves in the diversity flag.
15. July 2019 at 02:57
OT but compelling:
https://wolfstreet.com/2019/07/12/changes-in-house-prices-rents-and-household-incomes-since-1960-in-the-us-by-region-and-major-metro/
You know, ethnic and racial discord is heightened by job shortages, sinking real wages, and impossible house prices.
The US is doing okay on the job front presently, but I suspect the real compensation figures do not make sense anymore…partly due to housing costs but also health care and education costs.
Does anyone imagine living standards are higher on the West Coast than in the 1960s? I do not think so—not for anyone trying to raise a family. How an average young kids goes to UCLA or Berkeley anymore is beyond me. And those are the less-expensive option.
AOC and Trump can jibber-jabber about color. They should be talking about housing costs.
15. July 2019 at 04:36
Scott,
1. I don’t really get what is racist about the comment. I didn’t even think about the ethnicity of the people to whom he was referring. Sounded to me like he was attacking radical progressives. IME, liberals are much more race conscious than conservatives.
2. Also, who are the people who hate Muslims and Mexicans. I’ve never met one. I’ve also asked many people. No one I’ve asked has ever personally met one (although one person I know claims to have seen a racist on CNN.) Do you personally know any?
3. IMHO, it may have been a smart political move by Trump. AOC and her crowd were just about to get crushed by the mainstream Pelosi Democrats. By breathing life in to the radicals, Trump keeps the Democrats from tacking to the center making it much harder for them to win in 2020.
15. July 2019 at 05:41
Benjamin,
The “proud white man” comment strikes me as odd. Are white men discriminated against to the same degree as women of color? I don’t believe that I am.
15. July 2019 at 07:23
It must have been about thirty years ago when I was going through a rough life patch and went to see a psychiatrist. One of the first things he told me was “You have this really bright spotlight focused on yourself”, the implication being I needed to get out from under intense self scrutiny before I could make progress. When I hear the confusion of identity politics, I still think about that spotlight…
15. July 2019 at 07:34
I am deeply saddened at the logical contortions on this forum.
You may not agree with the opinions of hard left and you may frozen on identity politics – but that in no way makes these comments kosher.
It may be clever politically but this is all adding to the fire.
15. July 2019 at 07:49
Dhruv,
Thank you!
And to the apologists,
I suggest you google “redlining”. Identity politics are a problem but the effects of Jim Crow, redlining, and persistent racism far outway the harm that you feel from identity politics.
On another note:Women are drinking out of toilets!
15. July 2019 at 08:42
Everyone, So if some jerk tells my (Chinese) wife to “go back to where she came from” he’s not being a racist. Just criticizing her. Okaaaay . . .
BC, Taiwan has (officially) been part of China since 1683, except for a 50 year period of Japanese colonial rule that ended more than 70 years ago. Taiwanese can be both Taiwanese and Chinese, just as Hunanese can be both Hunanese and Chinese. What’s the problem?
Nobody’s asking Taiwan to give up democracy; we are asking the Mainland to adopt democracy.
dtoh, You said:
“Also, who are the people who hate Muslims and Mexicans. I’ve never met one.”
I’ve met them, and every single one I’ve met is a Trump supporter.
15. July 2019 at 09:01
Really ????? Who? How did you know they hate Muslims and Mexicans?
15. July 2019 at 09:02
BOB:
Relining was useful because it sort of “summarized”, or at least informed banks where the “debtbeats” lived. If you disagree with redlining, you must also disagree with the use of statistical sampling.
So Trump has the maturity of a 4th grader? That’s a pretty harsh thing to say about the President of the United States.
Scott, political correctness has gone too far. The hell girls are an atrocious bunch of no nothing haters and deserve to be put in their place, which is back through hell’s gate. They are worse than the low IQ Maxine Waters.
15. July 2019 at 09:05
Benjamin,
The “proud white man” comment strikes me as odd. Are white men discriminated against to the same degree as women of color? I don’t believe that I am.
See an Ivy league acceptance committee. In fact, more importantly, ask Asian kids if they believe they are being discriminated against at the big schools.
15. July 2019 at 09:07
Bob,
Are you satire or are you for real? You seem to be the real deal. Very funny indeed.
Redlining? Never heard of it. I thought the new term was “living in Orange County”.
Don’t forget the story that Omhar loves to tell: An American grandma stole bread because her 5 year old granddaughter would have starved to death otherwise. (That’s really Omhars version of the story, I don’t make it up.) Unfortunately, the good “grandma” was caught and got the incredibly harsh fine of 80 dollars.
And that’s somehow one reason (of so many) why Omhar hates America. So much injustice! Or maybe she was disappointed, because in Somalia even little thieves might lose their hands? And we have to love her for it, I think everything else would be hate speech.
No wonder Trump won if this is the new Democratic party. If someone like Pocahontas really wins the primaries, then how do they want to win the elections? I’m really curious. I don’t see the road to victory. But I never expected Trump to win either. So I guess it’s true: in America anything is possible.
15. July 2019 at 09:20
<blockquote
BC, Taiwan has (officially) been part of China since 1683, except for a 50 year period of Japanese colonial rule that ended more than 70 years ago.
Stories like that are true for many parts of the world. Relevant territories of Poland were founded by German settlers in 1200 and then lost in 1945. Another example: Huge parts of Ukraine are historically the ancestral territory of the ethnic group of Rus. From this point of view Ukraine is more Russian than Russia itself.
Taiwan is lost to Mainland China, they won’t get it back. The sooner the communists realize reality the better. Revanchism and reactionary conquest behaviour must not lead to success. America must make this very clear, otherwise more and more such conflicts will break out.
15. July 2019 at 10:41
It’s Democrats’ fault that Trump is a racist old man who spends all of his time watching Fox News. And it’s Democrats’ fault that Republican voters love that shit.
15. July 2019 at 11:18
Trump has 94% Republicans’ support!
15. July 2019 at 11:44
Somehow, Archie Bunker got elected President.
15. July 2019 at 11:50
Acebojangles,
electing someone like Pocahontas in the primaries would be their fault. And losing the elections to someone like Trump, who can’t be that hard to beat, would be their fault again. Not to mention: two times in a row.
15. July 2019 at 15:21
I can’t stand Trump and when I first saw the tweet, I was appalled. But after listening to Scott Adams on this topic, I think that Trump is making a non-obvious move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXPa1MPQ0og
If he had just said, “Go back to the country you came from” — full stop, that would be a racist comment. But notice that he continues on and says, “Then come back and show us how it is done.” It’s not racist to say ‘come back’.
So while I think that Trump has played up the fear of immigrants in an appalling manner in general, I think there is a subtlety in this tweet that most people are missing. Listen to Scott Adams explain it. The gist is that Trump is tying the Democratic party to the Squad, who are pretty unpopular.
You can put the speed at 2x on youtube since Adams talks pretty slow.
15. July 2019 at 17:39
Crazy to see people commenting:
1.) is anyone really racist cuz I have never met any real racists.
2.) Trump isn’t really a racist, he is just using racist rhetoric to his advantage.
3.) trumps racism is ok because obama.
Haha. People are just so full of it.
15. July 2019 at 19:23
There is a libertarian idea about exercising “exit”. So trump, facing a vocal critic of the country, says — why not go home. Perhaps her answer is that she loves the country too much to abandon fighting for what she sees as right.
“It is that I am anti-American because I criticize the United States. I believe, as an immigrant, I probably love this country more than anyone that is naturally born,” Omar said.
Yet I find her policies scary. I am not interested in living in the socialist revolution. Growing up under communism, coming to the US, I like the idea that this place is a refuge and bulwark against those ideas.
16. July 2019 at 14:27
Dtoh, You said:
“Really ????? Who? How did you know they hate Muslims and Mexicans?”
Because they tell me.
Christian, You said:
“Redlining? Never heard of it. I thought the new term was “living in Orange County”.”
The county where whites are in the minority?
Travis, Adam may be right that it’s smart politics, but that doesn’t excuse the morality of the comments. It’s 100% racist . Sorry but telling Americans who are members of unpopular minority groups to go back to their country is racist. Simple as that. (Their country is America, BTW.)
Student, Yeah, one doesn’t often hear racist comments in faculty lounges or executive suites, but hang around with average Americans and you’ll definitely hear them from time to time. I’ve met people who use the “N word” in a derogatory way. I suppose some people will deny that even that qualifies as racist. Yes, overt racism has declined a great deal, but it’s certainly still around. (Even more so in private conversations.) I’d also add that most of the racists I’ve met hate minorities as a group, but not as individuals.
Laura, Just the be clear, the comments that Trump directed at the other three were even more offensive. Those three were born here.
16. July 2019 at 15:21
“Three of the four Congresswomen attacked by Trump are not even immigrants:”
Where do you get the idea he was referring to them?
“But it’s also true that those Americans who do hate Muslims and Mexicans and other immigrants absolutely love Trump. They adore him.”
[citation needed]. Anecdote is not data.
“Sorry but telling Americans who are members of unpopular minority groups to go back to their country is racist.”
No. Trump did not even mention race in his remarks.
“I can assure you that Trump and many of his supporters feel very differently about white immigrants to the US from “shit hole countries” such as South Africa than black immigrants from the same countries, even if the blacks have PhDs.”
As they correctly should.
17. July 2019 at 13:18
Scott,
As a better indicator for things like discrimination, racism, red lining I would rather use the share of blacks, which is only 1-2%. Why is that?
Asians and Hispanics are basically “white” to me. I don’t really see the difference. There seems to be a massive “whiteshift” anyhow, so in a few decades the difference will be even less, similar to what happened to European migrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. Who still speaks today of Italians, Irish, Scots, Germans, Austrians, Swedes? No one.
17. July 2019 at 13:35
I appreciated Laura’s comment. There are so few comments by women. Are there any good ideas/studies as to why?