Trump stops pretending it’s about the ‘worst of the worst’
The murder of Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old serving her country in the National Guard to help pay for her college education, is horrific.
His fellow soldier, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, continues to fight for his life.
Their alleged attacker, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is in custody and likely faces the federal death penalty.
It is important that we pause for a moment and recognize the unacceptable terror of two people serving our country who were gunned down in a seemingly targeted attack just blocks from the White House a day before Thanksgiving. It is also important that we examine Lakanwal’s journey to the United States to understand whether any red flags were missed.
But it’s just as important to stop pretending that Trump’s increasingly overt racism passes for sound immigration policy.
As infuriating and saddening as this crime is, it does not apply to all immigrants. Yet here it is again.
“We don’t want these people,” he said Sunday evening, speaking of refugees from third world countries.
This was around the same time the official White House account posted a video of Trump reciting the civil rights song “The Snake” by Oscar Brown Jr.
“’Oh, shut up, stupid,’ said this reptile with a smile,” Trump intoned over images of immigration agents rounding up, you guessed it, brown people. “You knew damn well I was a snake before you brought me here.”
I mean, the Klan would blush at some of these things.
Although we’ve seen it before, this time Trump’s attack on non-white immigrants appears to be a move not to appease his MAGA voters but to marginalize them — an embrace of an increasingly powerful far-right contingent of his base that is open in its contempt for pluralism and equality.
Shortly after the tragedy in Washington, Trump pledged on social media to “expel anyone who is not a net asset to the United States or incapable of loving our country.”
Please note that he completely abandoned any charade regarding violent criminals or even those crossing the border illegally – the people MAGA (and many others) thought were being targeted in an immigration crackdown.
Instead, he appears to be cultivating support from younger, angrier Republican men who eschew traditional conservatism as weak and misguided. Unfortunately, there are a growing number of these small conservatives who openly believe that America should be a white Christian nation ruled by men.
America First supporters, led by Nick Fuentes, are the most prominent outside the administration, but there are other groups, some affiliated and others openly hostile to each other, that are accumulating power both within the Republican base and its power structure. Inside, just look at Stephen Miller’s ravings to prove that racism is increasingly an official Trump policy, one that goes well beyond closing our borders or deporting undocumented immigrants.
Does this seem alarmist to you? Let Trump finish.
He promised in a social media post a few days ago to “denaturalize migrants who compromise domestic tranquility and deport any foreign national who constitutes a public charge, a security risk or who is incompatible with Western civilization. These objectives will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations… Only REVERSE MIGRATION can completely remedy this situation.”
Disruptive populations. Like American citizens of Mexican origin? Americans of Indian origin? Or maybe protesters? Or the voters?
Before you punch the keyboard and tell me this is just another Trump rant with no bite, check out the official account of the Department of Labor, which recently posted a photo of the Lincoln Memorial with the text (in a font associated with the Third Reich) that reads: ”
