Trump seems to get a perverse pleasure in making sure he is always number one in the news cycle, and his political rally in North Carolina Wednesday night gave him the perfect opportunity to add more fuel to his public bonfire and burning of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
And like a junkyard dog in heat, he bayed loudly to his core supporters that if the four Congresswomen “don’t love [the country], tell them to leave it.” At the mention of any of the four women, the crowd booed and launched into chants of “Send her back!” And he appeared to love every outburst the crowd made as he basked in the glow of the hatred and divisiveness he has created.
The Trump initiative
I have watched Trump and his antics from the start – beginning with his announcement that he was going to be a candidate for president, and through most of his campaign rallies around the country. From the very first campaign speech, I picked up on what he was doing.
And sadly, from that very first campaign and up through his presidency, so far, Trump has become the darling of white nationalists, the KKK and many other hate groups in this country who often reference him.
Trump is the Grand Wizard of the United States. lRTviVcBlu
— Matt Murphy (@MattMurph24) July 18, 2019
It wasn’t hard to figure out that he was pitting people against each other. I know many readers have heard the expression, “divide and conquer.” Simply put, it is a strategy using deviousness to keep your enemies off guard and bickering amongst themselves in order to rule securely.
And from day one, that is what Trump has done – and it was very evident with his views on migrants, not only those from Latin America but from Muslim-speaking countries and later – people from what he referred to as “shit-hole” countries. I mean, really, who is left except white people for his idea of what America is supposed to be.
The thing is, Trump is not the first bigoted and hate-mongering politician this country has seen. We have had them in just about every state in the Union, and most recently, in my lifetime, that would include Alabama Governor George Wallace.
As a matter of fact, Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), one of the 2020 presidential hopefuls, compared what was said at President Trump’s Wednesday night rally to the language used by Wallace in the 1940s. And before anyone says, “But he was a Democrat,” there are no political boundaries when it comes to being a racist.
“My parents, my mom watched in black and white on TV, George Wallace with accusations of communism, the same language the same bigotry, the same hate that we see now,” Booker said on MSNBC after the rally, reports The Hill. “My mom watched it in black and white and today millions of Americans saw it in full color.”
My parents watched George Wallace on TV in black and white—tonight millions of Americans saw him in living color. LyjTXYKQ5n
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) July 18, 2019
We must not allow our country to become divided
Former Vice President Joe Biden understands what “divide and conquer” means. In a series of tweets, he warned that Trump is “trying to divide us by race and gender.”
“It’s immoral. Our children are listening,” Biden tweeted. “Donald Trump thinks that our nation’s great diversity makes us weak — because he has no idea what makes us great. Here’s what has always made America great: Honesty. Decency. Treating everyone with dignity. Demonizing no one — not the poor, the powerless, the immigrant, the other. Giving hate no safe harbor. Understanding that, as Americans, we are part of something bigger than ourselves.”
Here’s what has always made America great:
Honesty. Decency. Treating everyone with dignity. Demonizing no one — not the poor, the powerless, the immigrant, the other. Giving hate no safe harbor. Understanding that, as Americans, we are part of something bigger than ourselves.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 18, 2019
There is just one last thing I would like to mention. When Trump talks about “our country,” he is not talking about my country. I say this because the country he is talking about is one where only the people who he approves of are welcome.
Everyone else, from the LBGTQ community, African Americans, Latinos, people of Arab ancestry and anyone else that does not share his views are not part of Trump’s country. Well, I don’t share his views, and I know a lot of other people who don’t share his views, either.
