Racist-in-chief

When I was a kid, my dad would tell tales of his growing up during the Great Depression and World War II. He often wondered how the people of Germany could have fallen for a Hitler and his philosophy of hate. Growing up, I always wondered that as well. How could so many people have fallen for it?

Watching what has been happening over the last few years here in the United States, I now understand how the Nazi party rose to power: the German people fell for a con man who knew where to place the blame for the nation’s problems. That blame was aimed squarely at people perceived as different.

Fast forward to Make America Great Again: can you smell the racism in that slogan? With a black man in the White House, Donald Trump could use racism as a keystone in his campaign, and he did. Make America Great Again by electing a hateful old white man. On the campaign trail, Trump did not hide his racism.

JUNE 16, 2015 When Trump announced his campaign for president “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems …They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.” DEC. 7, 2015 At a South Carolina rally five days after the San Bernardino terrorist attack Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.” FEB. 28, 2016 CNN interview “Well, just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke, okay? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So I don’t know.” JUNE 3, 2016h Pointing to a black man surrounded by white Trump supporters at a campaign rally in Redding “Look at my African American over here. Look at him.” SEPT. 22, 2016 Presidential debate with Hillary Clinton “Our inner cities, African Americans, Hispanics are living in hell because it’s so dangerous. You walk down the street, you get shot.”

Those are just the high points (or low points) of the Trump campaign. That alone tells you that people were comfortable voting for an openly racist candidate.

Should it come as any surprise that the people who voted for Trump are okay with separating children from their parents, and blocking members of one religion from entering the country? That they are okay with the naked racism we see every single day in this country?

Someday, the photos, and words will come back to haunt those who have supported this racist president. They will regret their choice—but they will never admit it.