Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 36 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 8/15/17

Make America Hate Again

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   3 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Robert Reich
Become a Fan
  (130 fans)

From Robert Reich Blog

Make America Hate Again Puppet
Make America Hate Again Puppet
(Image by iamsdawson)
  Details   DMCA

Two days late, Donald Trump has finally condemned violent white supremacists. He was pushed into it by a storm of outrage at his initial failure to do so in the wake of deadly violence to Charlottesville, Virginia.

But it's too little, too late. Trump's unwillingness to denounce hateful violence has been part of his political strategy from the start.

Weeks after he began his campaign by alleging that Mexican immigrants were criminals and rapists, two brothers in Boston beat up and urinated on a 58-year-old homeless Mexican national, subsequently telling police "Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported."

Instead of condemning the brutality, Trump excused it by saying "people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country and they want this country to be great again."

During campaign rallies Trump repeatedly excused brutality toward protesters. "You know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks."

After white supporters punched and attempted to choke a Black Lives Matter protester, Trump said "maybe he should have been roughed up."

Trump was even reluctant to distance himself from David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan.

Since becoming president, Trump's instigations have continued. As Representative Mark Sanford, a Republican from South Carolina, told the Washington Post, "the president has unearthed some demons."

In May, Trump congratulated body-slamming businessman Greg Gianforte on his special election win in Montana, making no mention of the victor's attack on a reporter the night before.

Weeks ago Trump even tweeted a video clip of himself in a WWE professional wrestling match slamming a CNN avatar to the ground and pounding him with punches and elbows to the head.

Hateful violence is hardly new to America. But never before has a president licensed it as a political strategy or considered haters part of his political base.

In his second week as president, Trump called Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association to the White House.

Soon thereafter, LaPierre told gun owners they should fear "leftists" and the "national media machine" that were "an enemy utterly dedicated to destroy not just our country, but also Western civilization."

Since then the NRA has run ads with the same theme, concluding "the only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom, is to fight this violence of lies with a clenched fist of truth."

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Robert Reich Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, has a new film, "Inequality for All," to be released September 27. He blogs at www.robertreich.org.

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Trump Cornered

The Republican's Big Lies About Jobs (And Why Obama Must Repudiate Them)

Paul Ryan Still Doesn't Get It

What Mitt Romney Really Represents

What to Do About Disloyal Corporations

The Gas Wars

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend