Michael Gerson: Trump is at war with the central ideal of the Republic
Sometimes it is necessary to begin with the obvious. The claim that America needs more Norwegian migrants and fewer Africans from “sh-thole countries” is racist. It is not the same as arguing for a higher-skilled immigrant pool. That argument might go something like: “We need a higher-skilled immigrant pool.”
President Trump, according to the compelling weight of evidence, treated African countries (along with Haiti and some other nations) as places of misery filled with undesirable people. That is a prejudice based on a stereotype rooted in invincible ignorance. Why not assume that men and women arriving from poor, oppressed and dangerous countries would love America all the more? Because, well, they are those kind of people. What kind of people? The ones who don’t look like Norwegians.
On this issue, Trump has not earned the benefit of a single doubt. His racial demagoguery in the Central Park Five case ... his attribution of Kenyan citizenship to Barack Obama ... his references to Mexican migrants as rapists and murderers ... his unconstitutional attempt at a Muslim ban ... his moral equivocation following the Charlottesville protests and killing ... his statement, reported by the New York Times, that Nigerians would never “go back to their huts” after seeing America ... all of these constitute an elaborate pattern of bigotry. Trump makes off-hand racist comments, he promotes racist stereotypes and he incites racism as a political strategy.
And still it is difficult for me to write the words: “The President of the United States is a racist.” The implications are too horrible. But unavoidable. It means, for starters, that the president is blind to the contributions of African migrants to our country. It means that the president has undermined American foreign policy across a strategic continent -- alienating people disproportionately prone to like the U.S and respect its global role. It means that many Americans of color understandably view Trump as the president of white America, leaving a legacy of distrust that will not quickly fade. It means that bigots also view Trump as the president of white America, providing energy and legitimacy to some of the worst people in the country.
http://www.troyrecord.com/article/TR/20180116/NEWS/180119845
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