Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2018

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270880/donald-trump-racism-history

 

As a candidate and president, Trump has made many more racist comments

On top of all that history, Trump has repeatedly made racist — often explicitly so — remarks on the campaign trail and as president:

• Trump launched his campaign in 2015 by calling Mexican immigrants "rapists" who are "bringing crime" and "bringing drugs" to the US. His campaign was largely built on building a wall to keep these immigrants out of the US.
• As a candidate in 2015, Trump called for a ban on all Muslims coming into the US. His administration’s attempts at implementing a watered-down version of this policy have been contested in courts.
• When asked at a 2016 Republican debate whether all 1.6 billion Muslims hate the US, Trump said, "I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them."
• He argued in 2016 that Judge Gonzalo Curiel — who was overseeing the Trump University lawsuit — should recuse himself from the case because of his Mexican heritage and membership in a Latino lawyers association. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who endorsed Trump, later called such comments "the textbook definition of a racist comment."
• Trump has been repeatedly slow to condemn white supremacists who endorse him, and he regularly retweeted messages from white supremacists and neo-Nazis during his presidential campaign.
• He tweeted and later deleted an image that showed Hillary Clinton in front of a pile of money and by a Jewish Star of David that said, "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" The tweet had some very obvious anti-Semitic imagery, but Trump insisted that the star was a sheriff’s badge, and said his campaign shouldn’t have deleted it.
• Trump has repeatedly referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has said she has Cherokee ancestors, as "Pocahontas."
• At the 2016 Republican convention, Trump officially seized the mantle of the "law and order" candidate — an obvious dog whistle playing to white fears of black crime, even though crime in the US is historically low. His speeches, comments, and executive actions after he took office have continued this line of messaging.
• In a pitch to black voters in 2016, Trump said, "You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?"
• Trump stereotyped a black reporter at a press conference in February 2017. When April Ryan asked him if he plans to meet and work with the Congressional Black Caucus, he repeatedly asked her to set up the meeting — even as she insisted that she’s "just a reporter."
• In the week after white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, Trump repeatedly said that "many sides" and "both sides" were to blame for the violence and chaos that ensued — suggesting that the white supremacist protesters were morally equivalent to counterprotesters that stood against racism. He also said that there were "some very fine people" among the white supremacists. All of this seemed like a dog whistle to white supremacists — and many of them took it as one, with white nationalist Richard Spencer praising Trump for "defending the truth."
• Throughout 2017, Trump repeatedly attacked NFL players who, by kneeling or otherwise silently protesting during the national anthem, demonstrated against systemic racism in America.
• Trump reportedly said in 2017 that people who came to the US from Haiti "all have AIDS," and he lamented that people who came to the US from Nigeria would never "go back to their huts" once they saw America. The White House denied that Trump ever made these comments.
• Speaking about immigration in January 2018, Trump asked, in reference to Haiti and African countries, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" He then suggested that the US should take more people from countries like Norway. The implication: Immigrants from predominantly white countries are good, while immigrants from predominantly black countries are bad.
• Trump denied making the "shithole" comments about Haiti, but he did not deny making the comments about African countries. The White House, meanwhile, suggested that the comments, like Trump’s remarks about the NFL protests, will play well to his base. The only connection between Trump’s remarks about the NFL protests and his reported comments about immigration from Haiti and Africa is race.

This list is not comprehensive, instead relying on some of the major examples since Trump announced his candidacy. But once again, there’s a pattern of racism and bigotry here that suggests Trump isn’t just misspeaking; it is who he is.

Are Trump’s actions and comments "racist"? Or are they "bigoted"?

One of the common defenses for Trump is that he’s not necessarily racist, because the Muslim and Mexican people he often targets don’t actually comprise a race.

Disgraced journalist Mark Halperin, for example, said as much when Trump argued Judge Curiel should recuse himself from the Trump University case because of his Mexican heritage, making the astute observation that "Mexico isn’t a race."

Kristof made a similar point in the New York Times: "My view is that ‘racist’ can be a loaded word, a conversation stopper more than a clarifier, and that we should be careful not to use it simply as an epithet. Moreover, Muslims and Latinos can be of any race, so some of those statements technically reflect not so much racism as bigotry. It’s also true that with any single statement, it is possible that Trump misspoke or was misconstrued."

This critique misses the point on two levels.

For one, the argument is tremendously semantic. It’s essentially probing the question: Is Trump racist or is he bigoted? But who cares? Neither is a trait that anyone should want in a president — and either label essentially communicates the same criticism

[smilesammich 10,727]

really frustrating that we can't link to any of the current articles about trump's statements.

 

[jg121783 3,915]

22 minutes ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

He argued in 2016 that Judge Gonzalo Curiel — who was overseeing the Trump University lawsuit — should recuse himself from the case because of his Mexican heritage and membership in a Latino lawyers association.

 

Latino lawyers association? They won't even name this association. The name is La Raza which literally translates to "the race" and their motto is "for the race everything and for everyone else nothing". I can see why the article didn't mention that part. More fake news garbage from the delusional left.

Edited January 12, 2018 by jg121783

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

20 minutes ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

Are Trump’s actions and comments "racist"? Or are they "bigoted"?

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

11 minutes ago, jg121783 said:

 

Latino lawyers association? They won't even name this association. The name is La Raza which literally translates to "the race" and their motto is "for the race everything and for everyone else nothing". I can see why the article didn't mention that part. More fake news garbage from the delusional left.

 

This is the limit to your rebuttal? 

 yourself

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

26 minutes ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

This is the limit to your rebuttal? 

 yourself

Also, the lawyer's association, while it has "La Raza" in its name, is not affiliated with the National Council of La Raza, the oogie-boogie scary brown people organization. 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/06/07/trump-supporters-false-claim-that-trump-u-judge-is-a-member-of-a-pro-immigrant-group/?utm_term=.ce664262d7ef

Quote

The term “La Raza” has its origins in early 20th century Latin American literature and translates into English most closely as “the people” or, according to some scholars, as “the Hispanic people of the New World.” The term was coined by Mexican scholar José Vasconcelos to reflect the fact that the people of Latin America are a mixture of many of the world’s races, cultures, and religions. In contrast, the term “Hispanic” has its origins in the 1970 U.S. Census, and the term “Latino” was officially adopted in 1997 by the U.S. Government in the ethnonym “Hispanic or Latino.”

Mistranslating “La Raza” to mean “the race” implies that it is a term meant to exclude others. In fact, the full term coined by Vasconcelos, “La Raza Cósmica,” meaning the “cosmic people,” was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny.

 

 

https://sdlrla.com/the-name/

 

Personally, as a nice white Hispanic lady, I hate the term "La Raza" because it sounds, well, racist. But I'm not a member and have no intention of becoming a member. 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

8 minutes ago, elmcitymaven said:

Also, the lawyer's association, while it has "La Raza" in its name, is not affiliated with the National Council of La Raza, the oogie-boogie scary brown people organization. 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/06/07/trump-supporters-false-claim-that-trump-u-judge-is-a-member-of-a-pro-immigrant-group/?utm_term=.ce664262d7ef

 

https://sdlrla.com/the-name/

 

Personally, as a nice white Hispanic lady, I hate the term "La Raza" because it sounds, well, racist. But I'm not a member and have no intention of becoming a member. 

what she said..

[jg121783 3,915]

Whatever you think La Raza means (it directly translates to the race) for some reason the author of the article saw fit to omit the name of the group the judge is a member of. I wonder why. As far as the rest of the article goes I don't have time to refute it point by point as I am at work and only have 10 minutes on my breaks. Besides it's just a bunch of nonsensical virtue signaling from a no name website I have never heard of and some here are gullible enough to eat up every word of it so there is really no point.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

The term "human race" is race is racist to cats. As a cat lover, I disavow the human race as a bunch of racists.

[jg121783 3,915]

If they were referring to the human race their motto wouldn't be "for the race everything for everyone else nothing". But that's neither here nor there.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Quote

The full term coined by Vasconcelos, “La Raza Cósmica,” meaning the “cosmic people,” was developed to reflect not purity but the mixture inherent in the Hispanic people. This is an inclusive concept, meaning that Hispanics share with all other peoples of the world a common heritage and destiny.

 

Again, the SDLRA is not affiliated with the NCLA. Here is the mission statement of the SDLRA -- you might even call it their motto:

 

Quote

Our purpose is to advance the cause of equality, empowerment and justice for Latino attorneys and the Latino community in San Diego County through service and advocacy. We are dedicated to promoting diversity on both the bench and bar. We support law students with mentorship programs and scholarships.

http://sdlrla.com/about/mission-statement/

 

I say this as a Hispanic person who doesn't like the term, but I do like accuracy and avoid elision of facts (unless it is to my benefit, natch). I don't mind being corrected if the correction is fact-based and accurate.  

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

3 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Whatever you think La Raza means (it directly translates to the race) for some reason the author of the article saw fit to omit the name of the group the judge is a member of. I wonder why. As far as the rest of the article goes I don't have time to refute it point by point as I am at work and only have 10 minutes on my breaks. Besides it's just a bunch of nonsensical virtue signaling from a no name website I have never heard of and some here are gullible enough to eat up every word of it so there is really no point.

Since when is the term Virtue signalling used to describe facts. Facts like candidate Trump said the judge would not be fair because his family was from Mexico.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Trump is so unaware.
Are these the Nigerian huts he is talking about ?
 

 

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

1 hour ago, Ebunoluwa said:

Trump is so unaware.
Are these the Nigerian huts he is talking about ?
 

 

I really want to visit Lagos now!

[eieio 1,594]

11 hours ago, jg121783 said:

 

Latino lawyers association? They won't even name this association. The name is La Raza which literally translates to "the race" and their motto is "for the race everything and for everyone else nothing". I can see why the article didn't mention that part. More fake news garbage from the delusional left.

So true.