During Trump’s speech on Aug 12th, he addressed the American people with a message that left many viewers confused. He spoke heavily about the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, speaking out against the violence and blatant racism occurring. During his speech, he approached surprisingly sympathetic. Uttering the following “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence, it’s been going on for a long time in our country” But you have to wonder, given the president’s history is he sincere?
Trump has been well documented throughout his campaign and the aftermath of taking a racially charged stance on things. He has attacked multiple races and cultures throughout the years, so to claim that “we condemn” seems a far fetch. You need look no further than Trump’s attacks on Khizr Khan or Gonzalo Curiel in 2016. Khizr Khan, the father of a deceased Muslim Captain in the U.S. Army as well as the Captain’s wife both received anti-Muslim responses from Trump. Gonzalo Curiel, on the other hand, was the federal judge presiding over the class action suit against Trump University whom Trump accused of being biased because “He’s a Mexican” and further, when asked if he would trust a Muslim judge, Trump hinted that he didn’t think that would be fair either. In both cases, Trump’s blatant racial and cultural driven bigotry was directed at U.S. citizens just serving their country. The country he has so often said that he will make great again. So, is the American public to assume when Trump says “we” he means excluding him, or are we to assume later in his speech when he says “We must remember this truth; no matter our color, creed, religion, or party we are all Americans first.” what he’s actually telling us is that you are an American unless you’re Muslim, Mexican, or any race he deems below him.
His company and family have also had numerous federal prosecutions for not allowing property rentals to black people, and for discriminatory acts within the workplace. At his casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, when Ivanka Trump and her father would tour, the staff would remove all black people from the casino floor. This is not an act performed by a company who’s CEO believes that hatred, bigotry, and violence towards people needs to stop, but rather, promotes it. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, and Mr. President, your actions fail you. You can speak to the world about “No citizen should ever fear for their safety and security in our society” and say “Ideally we should love each other” but until you practice what you preach you will never be anything more than what your actions dictate.
The truth is, Americans elected a man, who is all of the things his speech condemns. He has shown himself to be a racist, he has shown himself to be a bigot, and most alarming of all is he considers violence, passion. Remember back to August 2015, when, upon finding out 2 of his supporters beat a homeless Latino his response was simply that they were “very passionate”. This is the man who has access to our entire offensive and defensive capabilities, and he considered the beating of a man a “passionate” display. “Make America great again” went out the door some time ago, and now we have nothing more than “make America hate again”, in a well-tailored suit.
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