Trumps racism is more than rhetoric it forms policy and ruins lives

[babylonsister]

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/trumps-racism-is-more-than-rhetoric-it-forms-policy-and-ruins-lives/article37592879/?#_=_

Opinion
Trump’s racism is more than rhetoric – it forms policy and ruins lives
SARAH KENDZIOR
Special to The Globe and Mail
Published 4 hours ago
Updated January 13, 2018

Sarah Kendzior is a St. Louis, Mo.-based commentator who writes about politics, the economy and media

snip//

Having failed to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his bigotry, Americans are now stuck with him as President – and the priority should not be policing his profanity, but protecting the rights of non-white and non-Christian Americans. Some callously call his racist remarks a "distraction," ignoring that his racism underlies actual policy such as the DACA repeal and the Muslim travel ban. Mr. Trump's racism is not mere rhetoric; backed by a GOP that abides it, his racism ruins lives.

His racism is dangerous not only for immigrants and foreigners but for any American who is not white. For decades, he has described U.S. cities with substantial black and Latino populations – in particular, Chicago – in the same derogatory language he used on Thursday. Mr. Trump sees not only non-white immigrants but also non-white, native-born U.S. citizens as people who do not belong in his America. In his mind, being American is synonymous with being white. This view came through most clearly in his years-long crusade against president Barack Obama, whom Mr. Trump insisted must be a foreigner – admitting only in 2016 that Mr. Obama was an American. But one can also witness it in his attacks on other non-white citizens he deemed either illegitimate, such as Mexican-American Judge Gonzalo Curiel, or unpatriotic, such as the numerous black celebrities he berates.

After his comments spurred an outcry on Thursday, CNN reported that White House staffers were pleased, as the xenophobic attacks would resonate with Mr. Trump's base. While this is likely true and is disturbing in its own right, the broader implications are also concerning. Mr. Trump is the most unpopular president in U.S. history, with a 67-per-cent disapproval rating, and his base is small and shrinking. Only 26 per cent of Americans voted for him, and the number who remain hard-core supporters is likely much lower than that.

Mr. Trump's base may be overwhelmingly white, but by 2020 non-whites will be the majority of America's children. Given this shifting demographic, one would normally expect a president and his party to tone down racist rhetoric in a midterm election year and instead try to expand the voter base. That Mr. Trump remains blatantly racist shows not only personal mendacity but a lack of concern for the will of the public – a nonchalance best explained by the numerous suppression mechanisms the GOP has designed to disenfranchise voters.

Mr. Trump and his backers have abandoned the idea that America is for everyone – a fundamental precept of the United States. Though this ideal has never been fully upheld in practice, it has never been so vigorously opposed, both in rhetoric and policy, by a president. Mr. Trump's racism is not new, but this anti-American presidency is.

[brush]

1. The meeting where he used the shithole comment is a clear example of how his racism influences...

policy.

Senator Durkin attended the meeting with a compromise package on DACA, expecting trump to go along as he promised in the "show competency" telecast a couple of two day earlier.

Instead he was double-crossed by racist twit Steven Miller who slipped in anti-immigrant hardliners to keep trump in line (easily manipulated trump is known for agreeing with the last person to have his ear—thus the hard line attendees).

trump, appropriately shepherded by the hardliners, unloaded his racist shithole comments and the DACA compromise policy and the meeting was torpedoed.