CommentsBCK FILE--President Trump took to Twitter Sunday am, more than doubling down on the accusations he’s a racist.
In his Sunday Twitter thread, he targeted Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley, born in the United States, and Ilhan Omar, who moved to the US when she was a child.
Trump tweeted the representatives “originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe” and suggested Speaker Nancy Pelosi “would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements.” This came a week after a clash between Pelosi and the representatives.
In his three-tweet thread, he also accused the congressional representatives of “viciously” criticizing him and the U.S.
"So interesting to see 'progressive' Democrat congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful nation on earth, how our government is to be run.
Trump has used racism as a central part of his political brand but his racist stances can be noted throughout his lifetime.
Trump was the top promoter of the Obama birther theory as far back as during the 2008 campaign cycle, a movement that brought out extremists and put Donald Trump on the political map. He’s retweeted racist and anti-Semitic memes, referred to African countries with a pejorative, and backpedaled on his claims after Charlottesville there are “fine people on both sides.”
His campaign rhetoric was built upon attack and fear tactics aimed at Mexican immigrants, referring to them as “rapists, drug dealers, criminals.” Last May, when he was promoting harsher immigration laws, he referred to Mexican immigrants as “animals, not people.”
Going back to 1973, the US Department of Justice under Nixon sued Trump Management Corporation for violating the Fair Housing Act after Trump refused to rent to black tenants and lied about vacancies. He signed an agreement in 1975, agreeing not to discriminate.
In the 1989, Trump ran ads in the New York papers, demanding the death penalty for “The Central Park Five” who were falsely accused of attacking and raping a jogger in New York’s Central Park. He demanded, “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY!” The teens ended up spending over a decade in prison before being exonerated. The city paid out a $41 million settlement. In 2016, Trump said he still believes they are guilty, despite DNA evidence. Of course, the horrific conditions in the border detention camps bely his focus on racist stances.
The examples of Trump’s racism go on and on. It’s no surprise in the weeks after the Census citizenship question push and his threats of ICE raids that he turned up the heat on congressional representatives who have been critical of him and his policies.
As Trump’s MO is to incite anger and division, riling up his base of supporters, it’s particularly important that we continue to speak out against his racist tweets and statements. Politicians took to Twitter to call out Trump for his tweets. We can’t afford to ignore his rants. We must continue to speak out and certainly, to stay involved in the political process, from local offices all the way through the presidency.
(Beth Cone Kramer is a professional writer living in the Los Angeles area. She covers Resistance Watch and other major issues for CityWatch.)
-cw
