Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is the least racist person ever. Or so he keeps telling us. Trump’s exclusive use of the grammatical superlative when referring to himself often makes it hard to separate reality from the myriad, and contradictory, fantasies that he vomits forth on a daily basis.
However, in this case at least, his actions speak louder than his words.
We’ve heard the words. The vicious tweets, the stereotyping, the generalizing. His belief that black people are lazy, his attacks on Hispanics, his ham-fisted Taco bowl Tweet. It’s all background noise now, we’re almost used to it.
Perhaps, he doesn’t mean it, perhaps his lack of tact defines him as much as his lack of modesty does. Maybe it’s just all talk. These are the things we tell ourselves. It’s a small comfort, but it’s better than nothing.
Or it would be.
The idea that a man who might one day sit in the oval office is not the racist bigot he appears to be; is the balm we use to soothe nerves frazzled by the horrors of this election cycle.
The problem is, that there is no panacea for the hate Trump is peddling; there isn’t even a placebo.
The jury is in, and it points not to a loose tongued buffoon who grins from the podium like a dimmer than expected Malibu sunrise. It hints instead, at a direct association with the very worst of America, with racism, bigotry, and white supremacy.
The Ghost Of Trump’s Racist Past
Looking backwards, we can see that Trump’s questionable relationship with ethnic minorities is long-standing. In 1927, Trump’s father was arrested after a Ku Flux Klan meeting turned into a full-blown riot. Of course, the sins of the father should not be imposed upon the son, and it remains unclear what role Fred Trump played in the riot.
Donald Trump has also had brushes with the law over racial issues.
In 1973, the Justice Department sued the Trump Management Corporation over its refusal to rent properties to people of diverse ethnicity, in particular, to African-Americans. It was alleged that minorities were lied to about both the availability of apartments and the terms and conditions of renting them.
Trump counter sued for a typically modest $100 million. He settled out of court, despite the fact that he has repeatedly claimed he doesn’t do that. He was forced to send vacancy lists for his 15,000 apartments to the civil rights New York Urban League, and to allow them to recommend candidates for Trump’s rental properties.
Two years later, he was sued again.
The Ghost Of Trump’s Racist Present
The issues of his past pale in comparison to his campaign’s now blatant association with openly racist individuals. Yesterday, Trump shared a stage with one of Brexit’s chief architects Nigel Farage a man who once sang songs about gassing Jews.
Shocking though that might be, his decision to hire Steve Bannon as his campaign CEO, points to even more sinister developments in the Trump campaign machine. Indeed, the ascendance of Bannon is definitive proof that Trump’s xenophobia is no Chimera.
As head of the Breitbart network, Bannon has given voice to millions of mostly white, mostly working class voters who have become increasingly disenfranchised with their perceived loss of identity.
Breitbart is not a forum for serious debate.
Instead it attracts malcontents from all quarters, and at times, it veers into the muddy waters of outright racism. On July 19 for example, Breitbart’s technology correspondent, Milo Yiannopoulos, was issued a rare lifetime ban from Twitter over comments that inspired his followers to engage in racist attacks against the actress Leslie Jones.
Bannon too is an unapologetic spokesperson for the alt-right, and his position as leader of Team Trump can only be seen as the entrenchment of what Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton described as an:
“Emerging racist ideology.”
The Ghost Of Trump’s Racist Future
With compelling, philosophical reasons to believe that history has a direction, and that its direction is progressive, such an observation does not come without admonitory warning; complacency is ever the enemy of liberty. Retrograde social action is an ever-present threat to socially progressive victories. And as President Barack Obama noted, when it comes to protecting these gains, the fight goes on.
Trump is losing this election, but he has not lost it, not yet. As he continues to damage the U.S. reputation abroad, as he continues to threaten the gains we have made over the past eight years, one thought must remain fixed in our minds.
He needs to be stopped.
Watch Donald Trump being grilled over racist comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emWsxQEsKqA
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
