Is Donald Trump a racist?
That’s what many Americans (and others) have been aggressively debating the past few days. It comes on the heels of Trump’s wildly controversial tweets on Sunday, and his suggestion that “‘Progressive’ Democratic Congresswomen” should stop criticising the US at every turn, and “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done.”
Who are those unnamed congresswomen? It’s a subtle reference to four young, first-term House Representatives of colour informally known as “The Squad”: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashia Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley. All of them are ultra left-wing Democrats in their politics, and three regard themselves as democratic socialists. (Pressley has never used the label.) They support policies like single-payer health care, tuition-free public universities, higher minimum wages and gun control.
After this Twitter frenzy, the battle lines have been drawn. The Squad held a press conference yesterday condemning a President they believe is hateful and racist to people and communities who look like them. Trump refused to apologise for his tweets, and likely never will.
It’s the perfect political storm for a President who loves to control the weather.
Accusations of racism are certainly nothing new to Trump. They’ve followed him throughout his roller-coaster of a political journey from bombastic businessman to world leader.
Trump infamously suggested Mexican immigrants are “rapists” who bring drugs and crime to America. He argued there were “very fine people on both sides” at the so-called Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was primarily organised by white nationalists. He attacked NFL players, many of whom are black, for taking a knee during the national anthem, and proposed “maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.” In a private White House meeting, it was leaked that he reportedly said, “Why do we want all these people from ‘shithole countries’ coming here?,” referring to Haiti and African countries.
The President’s defenders consistently argue he wasn’t referring to all individuals and countries when making these statements, and his words are often taken out of context. There’s some truth in this: he makes a fair number of mistakes in tweets and speeches that need to be rectified or tidied up. Is it true in each and every case? That’s impossible to say.
Racism is a different matter altogether.
There’s no specific definition of what a racist is. Some people set the bar extremely high when it comes to controversial language and analogies. Others are immediately triggered and get all defensive if someone says something a little offbeat about their appearance or religious/personal practices. In many cases, it depends on the strength of your support for free speech and intellectual discourse in a democratic society.
I happen to be a near-absolutist when it comes to free speech. My tolerance level of Trump’s public statements is on the high side, and I respect the fact he opposes political correctness and speaks his mind.
At the same time, the language he regularly uses is anywhere from mildly inappropriate to completely offensive. World leaders need to be consistently mindful of the comments they make to individuals, businesses and countries. Public statements and private thoughts are two separate principles, and most understand the difference. More often than not, the President doesn’t make this distinction – or doesn’t care to.
In turn, Trump’s past comments about women, Hispanics, blacks and even The Squad have been incredibly borderline at times. They may be honest, but they aren’t defensible. They occasionally sound like old racist tropes used against religious and ethnic minorities, even if that wasn’t his original intention. His occasional dances with the intolerance devil may have even emboldened a few Americans with racist views to speak out with more confidence.
But for all of his intolerant, offensive comments as US President, and allegations of similar comments long before he took office, I don’t believe he’s a racist.
It has nothing to do with the fact he’s had friends from all walks of life, and a Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who works in his administration. Rather, it’s because he’s effectively used heated, aggressive, over-the-top language to stir up the emotions of his supporters and critics. One of his real talents is an ability to constantly turn a narrative back to his favour like a broken needle on a record player. It’s astonishing to watch at times.
That’s why Trump doesn’t apologise for his statements, and doesn’t believe he’s a racist. He’s not. It’s part of a perverse political game of chess he’s been playing for years against his opponents, and they get rooked over and over again.
