Tag: Trump racism

Army assessment of migrant caravans undermines Trump’s rhetoric

Soldiers install protective wire at a bridge between the United States and Mexico on Friday in Hidalgo, Tex. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Military planners anticipate that only a small percentage of Central American migrants traveling in the caravans President Trump characterizes as “an invasion” will reach the U.S. border, even as a force of more than 7,000 active-duty troops mobilizes to prevent them from entering the United States.

According to military planning documents, about 20 percent of the roughly 7,000 migrants traveling through Mexico are likely to complete the journey. The unclassified report was obtained and published by Newsweek on Thursday. If the military’s assessment is accurate, it would mean the United States is positioning five soldiers on the border for every one caravan member expected to arrive there.

“Based on historic trends, it is assessed that only a small percentage of the migrants will likely reach the border,” the report says. It was prepared by U.S. Army North, a component of U.S. Northern Command, which oversees the mission dubbed Operation Faithful Patriot.

View the complete November 2 article by Nick Miroff and Missy Ryan on the Washington Post website here.

Donald Trump said black people were ‘too stupid’ to vote for him, his former lawyer Michael Cohen claims

Credit: Jonathan Ernst, Reuters

Donald Trump once claimed black people were “too stupid” to vote for him and regularly used explicitly racist language before coming into office, his former lawyer has claimed.

Michael Cohen, who served as the president’s lawyer and fixer for a decade, claimed he witnessed Mr Trump making derogatory comments about black people throughout the 2016 election campaign.

Cohen has publicly split from Mr Trump since he was charged with  campaign finance violations and tax fraud earlier this year.

View the November 2 article by Rozina Sabur of The Telegraph on the Yahoo News website here.

Networks pull Trump ad on migrants — even Fox News

Et tu, Fox News?

President Trump’s favorite cable news network has pulled his campaign ad that depicts a Central American migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. border with Mexico as made up of criminals and accuses Democrats of inviting murderers into the country.

“Upon further review, Fox News pulled the ad yesterday and it will not appear on either Fox News Channel or Fox Business Network,” Marianne Gambelli, president of ad sales, told CNN in a statement.

The move comes one day after NBC faced a backlash from viewers after it aired the controversial ad during Sunday night’s NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers.

View the complete November 5 article by David Knowles on the Yahoo News website here.

What Trump has said about violent attacks depends on who committed them


After the shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, many politicians condemned the violence and blamed divisive political rhetoric around the country. (Jenny Starrs /The Washington Post)

President Trump’s immediate response to the killing of 11 people at a synagogue in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh, offered as he headed to Indiana for an event on Saturday, focused on the motivation of the alleged shooter.

“It’s a terrible, terrible thing what’s going on with hate in our country,” he said, “frankly, and all over the world. And something has to be done. Something has to be done.” Then his focus shifted: The attack was even deadlier than publicly reported at the time and, in response to a question from a reporter, that there was not necessarily cause to revisit gun laws.

“If they had protection inside, the results would have been far better,” he said. “This is a dispute that will always exist, I suspect.”

View the complete October 30 article by Philip Bump on the Washington Post website here.

Former GOP Strategist Reveals the Covert Message Trump Sent to Neo-Nazis by Proclaiming Himself a ‘Nationalist’

Far-right racists loved the message.

While discussing the racial politics of the Florida gubernatorial election, ex-Republican strategist Steve Schmidt argued Thursday that the whole party has been dragged down into a dangerous association with racists because of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies.

Schmidt asserted during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House” that Trump’s recent declaration of himself as a “nationalist” was a direct message to some of the most pernicious parts of the far right.

“When Donald Trump declares himself a ‘nationalist,’ the nationalists understand exactly what he means,” said Schmidt. “By the way, let’s stop calling them ‘white nationalists’ and call them by their names, which are ‘neo-Nazis’ and ‘Klansmen.'”

View the October 25 article by Cody Fenwick on the AlterNet.org website here.

‘Use That Word!’: Trump Embraces the ‘Nationalist’ Label

WASHINGTON — As a general rule, presidents do not refer to themselves as a “nationalist” given the freighted history of the word. But as President Trump tries to galvanize his conservative base to turn out in the midterm elections, he has adopted the label as a badge of honor.

At a rally in Houston on Monday night, he embraced the term as unabashedly as he ever has. “Really, we’re not supposed to use that word,” he told supporters in a nod to the usual political sensibilities that he relishes disrupting. “You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, O.K.? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist! Use that word! Use that word!”

Asked in the Oval Office on Tuesday why he used that word given its association with racist movements, Mr. Trump professed ignorance of its history but did not back off. “I never heard that theory about being a nationalist,” he said. “I’ve heard them all. But I’m somebody who loves our country.” Undaunted, he added: “I am a nationalist. It’s a word that hasn’t been used too much. Some people use it, but I’m very proud. I think it should be brought back.”

View the complete October 23 article by Peter Baker on the New York Times website here.

FACT CHECK: Wardlow Would Use the Attorney General’s Office to Enforce President Trump’s Cruel Immigration Policies

Recent reporting counts the number of children detained at the border at more than 12,800, but Wardlow would enforce Trump’s immigration policies as AG

Minnesota  – During tonight’s Attorney General debate between Congressman Keith Ellison and Doug Wardlow on KSTP, Congressman Keith Ellison reiterated his long-standing belief in a humane immigration policy that treats people fairly while protecting the security of all Americans.

Meanwhile, Republican Doug Wardlow continued to stand by President Trump’s cruel immigration policies, even as recent reporting has shown thatmore than 12,800 children are being detained at the border in recent months.

But Wardlow not only supports the President’s cruel immigration policies, he would use the Attorney General’s Office to enforce them. In a recent WCCO TV interview, Wardlow stated his strong support for President Trump and his immigration policies:

WARDLOW:
“I think it’s very important that the Attorney General work with federal law enforcement to make sure Minnesotans are safe by enforcing our immigration laws”

INTERVIEWER:
“You are a strong supporter of President Trump’s. Do you feel that President Trump’s policies on immigration are right for Minnesota?”

WARDLOW:
“I think they are right for Minnesota.”

Last month, a Wardlow campaign document was released, stating that “Doug Wardlow will institute these duties when he is your MN Attorney General,” including: “Defend President Trump’s agenda in court.”

Minnesotans need an Attorney General who will work for Minnesotans and protect the rights of all families, not someone who will serve President Trump and his cruel policy of family separation.

What Republican Whiners Dread Is Democracy – Not ‘Mob Rule’

Donald Trump flanked by Mike Pence and John Kelly

To hear some people tell it, America stands at the edge of a dangerous precipice. No less an authority than Donald J. Trump, the nation’s leading exponent of racial grievance theory, fears for the safety of the republic.

Marauding bands of women in silly pink hats have the commander-in-chief spooked. “You don’t hand matches to an arsonist,” he told a Kansas rally the other day “and you don’t give power to an angry left-wing mob—and that’s what they’ve become.”

Democrats, he means.

View the complete October 18 article by Gene Lyons on the National Memo website here.

THE LATEST: Trump Defends Family Separation Policy & Confirms He’s Considering Doing It Again

This weekend, Trump defended his family separation policy that led to at least 2,500 children being forcibly separated from their families. Trump also confirmed that he is considering a new policy to tear even more families apart. Here’s the latest:

Trump confirmed that he is considering a new family separation policy.

Washington Post: “President Trump confirmed Saturday that he is considering a new family separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border because he believes the administration’s earlier move to separate migrant children from parents was an effective deterrent to illegal crossings.”

Continue reading “THE LATEST: Trump Defends Family Separation Policy & Confirms He’s Considering Doing It Again”