Trump is expected to make a big announcement today at 9 pm. However, before he announces what that is, it is important to remember his legacy of hatred and bigotry. He was the 45th president of the United States. He was openly hateful, emboldened bigots, was extremely misogynistic and homophobic, and stood by as hate crimes rose under his administration. His behavior showed the entire world how racist and bigoted America was. Donald Trump won the presidency because of the electoral college, despite the popular vote going to Hillary Clinton. With all that being said, this article intends to explore the legacy of Donald Trump and his impact on American politics.
Trump’s Racism
Donald Trump is a very vocal racist. Usually in American politics, when a racist politician wants to say something racist they will use euphemisms. The most famous example of this phenomenon is when a politician talks about “states rights” or “putting away the thugs.” Trump dropped the euphemisms altogether and just said whatever he wanted to say. He said incredibly racist things all the time. The thing about the Trump administration is that everything was a spectacle, but that spectacle had real material impacts on real people. Under the Trump administration, hate crimes rose by a significant degree.
Trump’s Xenophobia
Donald Trump was, and is an extreme xenophobe. He banned citizens from Muslim-majority nations from coming over to the US with his “Muslim ban”. Throughout his entire presidency, he bashed and threw racist messages onto the Latin American community. He built a wall that was expensive and didn’t really do anything. He did all this because he knew it would upset people, and because he knew his base would love him for it.
Donald Trump’s Base
Trump’s base is bigoted white people. It doesn’t matter what class, they just have to be bigoted and white. The reason why is that Donald Trump’s strategy is to embolden white people. He does this by using flashy rhetoric and racist talking points. People are so used to politicians using doublespeak, that when he just came out on live television every night and said what they were all thinking out loud it was astonishing. What he did every time he appeared on television should have been political career suicide, but it wasn’t.
His base grew larger and larger until a massive proto-fascist movement was formed. It wasn’t long ago when people would go everywhere wearing Trump hats all the time. The Trump hat was seen as a sign of white rage, or racism and bigotry. Ultimately, Donald Trump‘s reign as a leader of the American empire resulted in a reassertion of white supremacy as a response to Obama and organizations like Black Lives Matter.
The Coup
On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump led a coup against the American state. Trump supporters rushed the capital. They believed that the Democrats had “stolen the election,” A lie peddled by right-wing pundits and of course, the man himself. This was a calculated attack against American democracy and they were nearly successful. Police officers let them inside and there was very little resistance. Donald Trump had lost his second election attempt and they couldn’t deal with that reality. So they chose to believe in the lie that the “Democrats stole the election”. He was impeached twice and yet he has received no consequences for his traitorous behavior. Trump emboldened Nazis to come out and show out as if it was acceptable. It seemed acceptable at the time, because seeing them around like that was so normal.
Legacy
Trump left an everlasting mark on the course of American history and American politics. The Republican party is forever changed because of Donald Trump, and as the world deals with the fallout of the toxic Trump administration, the Republican Party is scrambling to pull itself together. This is what happens when an organization is built around the idea of a “strong man” without an actual, suitable “strong man.” The base of the Republican Party has changed, and so has the rhetoric they use.
The republican freshmen are all Trump supporters who believe in his conspiracy theories and his lies. Trump still has a very strong grip on the minds and hearts of the republican base, both the new and the old ones. Many people in many different kinds of spaces wear Trump hats. There are still celebrities that support him. The world is still hurting after the harm he and his supporters have done. Trump will be announcing something at 9 pm on 11/15/22. For the sake of America and the world at large, let us hope it isn’t another presidential campaign.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources:
AmericanProgress: 100 Ways, in 100 Days, that Trump Has Hurt Americans by the Center for American Progress
CNN: Trump is on the defense as he prepares for expected 2024 announcement by Gabby Orr
WashingtonPost: Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226 percent increase in hate crimes by Ayal Feinberg, Regina Branton, and Valerie Martinez-Ebers
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Matt Johnson’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Discover more from Guardian Liberty Voice
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.