The White Supremacist President
Donald Trump attacked Somali immigrants this week. Here’s why it matters.
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By now, you’ve probably seen or heard about Donald Trump’s racist, anti-immigrant rant against Somalis and Somali-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.Trump’s comments were unhinged, but just the kind of hateful rhetoric he typically lobs at Black and brown immigrant communities and women of color in Congress.
Trump does these hateful attacks for a few reasons. First, because this is what he actually believes. It’s vintage Trump behavior. It’s who Trump is.
But crucially, Trump knows these remarks will garner him the attention he desperately craves. Per the What’s Resonating newsletter, “Since Tuesday, right-leaning pages have posted about Ilhan Omar or Somalis an astonishing 840 times, and those posts have over-performed by 30%.” Meanwhile, Trump was rewarded on the left as well, with Omar’s response generating higher-than-normal leftist engagement that has the unfortunate side-effect of further amplifying Trump’s words.
I understand why Congresswoman Omar responded on a visceral level, and I probably would have advised her to do the same. It doesn’t hurt thatit’s a solid fundraising hook as well (something Omar is taking advantage of.) It’s extremely difficult to fight back against Trump without amplifying him, and once hate has gone viral there’s no reason not to engage. Plus, dealing with the resulting threats of violence and harassment after Trump attacks you and your constituents has to be soul-crushing and exhausting.
For me, the most troubling aspect of Trump’s attacks on Somali-Americans is how acceptable it’s become for the president of the United States and members of Congress to speak this way, and how much we’ve desensitized ourselves to it. There used to be a political cost for racist rhetoric and words intended to incite. I think a lot about former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott’s resignation in 2002 over divisive remarks praising Strom Thurmond and how his words cost him one of the most powerful roles in Congress. And on Bluesky, writer Jamelle Bouie made the point that even President Richard Nixon, who certainly held racist views, knew that it wasn’t acceptable to air them publicly or from the White House. This kind of rhetoric was considered unacceptable for decades, but since the emergence of Donald Trump as a candidate, that’s changed.
It’s not that Trump or his supporters being racist is new or shocking. It’s the amount of power they’ve amassed and how comfortable they are with attacking entire communities with incitement that will result in threats and violence. Instead of being shamed, Trump and MAGA are routinely rewarded for the hate, harassment, and harm they spread, with little concern for the people and communities who bear the brunt of the constant abuse.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that federal authorities are planning an operation to target Somali Immigrants in Minnesota, where Congresswoman Omar’s district is. It’s part of a broader effort from the regime to exploit anti-immigrant sentiment, pause applications from most asylum seekers, justify horrific raids that terrorize communities, and use the military to occupy cities. The Department of Homeland Security posts racist memes to continue the incitement and terror online using official government social media accounts.
As always, it’s vital that we show solidarity with our friends and neighbors enduring this assault from the Trump regime. MAGA continues the rhetoric, the violence, and the incitement because, as of yet, we haven’t stopped them. We can’t change their racist views, but it is possible to create a cost for causing harm on a massive scale. It’s on all of us to call out unacceptable rhetoric and stand with marginalized communities. The only way this stops is if enough Americans come together to force them to stop.
ICYMI
Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros. (Mother Jones) I wasn’t aware of the Network State connection to Trump’s latest pardon, but that makes a lot more sense as to how and why it happened.
Exclusive: Trump Administration Orders Enhanced Vetting for Applicants of H-1b Visa (Reuters)
The Conservative Grievance Business is Always Hiring (Defector) “The cable, sent to all U.S. missions on December 2, orders U.S. consular officers to review resumes or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants – and family members who would be traveling with them – to see if they have worked in areas that include activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety, among others.”
The Males of MAGA Manspread Their Insecurity (Stop the Presses) Good stuff, and a fantastic headline, from my Courier colleague, Mark Jacob.
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Blatant Self-Promotion
I was a guest on Global Warning with Awkword last week. We had a wide-ranging conversation about the MAGA Right, incitement of violence, and the importance of resistance.
I also spoke to Ryan Broderick for a piece in Rolling Stone about the rise of ghoulish Kirkified memes and what they might say about the future of MAGA as a movement. You can find an archived non-paywall version here.
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That’s all for this week. Talk to you next Sunday!
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What's really dangerous (among other things) about these federal agents swooping into cities and targeting — well, everyone who doesn't look like they "should" — is that it is destroying the economies of these neighborhoods and cities at a time when the economy is struggling anyway. It's revolting on so many levels.
What happened to "Ancestral Americans"? Drumpf's grandfather was an immigrants, I believe his mother may have been one, his wife certainly is one. And about what? 40/50/60% have more ancestry than most of congress, America was built by immigrants. So the more noise he makes about them the more it should seen how little ancestry he has there.
Anyway, his racism and stupidity is a US problem, but when the US starts telling other countries to fix their immigrants problem while supporting a state of immigrants in their killings of the centuries long indigenous people - that problem belongs to allow us on the planet.