Republicans are complicit in Trump’s racism
Even for a president who has thrived on bigotry, a nerve was struck by Trump’s racist tweets over the weekend telling four female lawmakers of color to “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” (Not only is this vile racism; it’s blatantly false. Three of the four women were born in the United States.)
Trump then doubled down on all of it on camera this afternoon.
Yet since these racist attacks, only a handful of Republican lawmakers have condemned Trump’s words—and those who did, like Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), did so in the weakest of terms. Some, like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), came to Trump’s defense by attacking the Democratic lawmakers for being “anti-America.”
Share this gif to hold Republican lawmakers accountable for their complicity in Trump’s racism:
- We already know Trump is racist: Trump’s racist tweets are nothing new. From day one of his 2016 campaign (and long before—remember birtherism?) Trump has spewed racist rhetoric about people of color—especially women.
- Republicans give him free rein: Republicans in Congress have allowed Trump’s racism to go almost entirely unchecked. On occasion, they throw out empty words chastising Trump for his racist attacks, but not once have they stood up to him with any concrete action. Now, most are too cowardly to even condemn him with words.
- The media is playing into Trump’s hands: Media coverage of the tweets has been deeply flawed. Many media outlets refuse to label the tweets as racist, instead using phrases like “racially charged.” One notable exception was CNN’s Brian Stelter, who strongly condemned the tweets on his show over the weekend: “[Trump’s] racism is becoming more obvious, more frightening…That kind of racism that Americans have been fighting against for decades is coming from the president’s Twitter feed.”
- Now, another attack on immigrants: Trump ramped up his cruel immigration policies today with an announcement that he will end asylum protections for Central American migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. This comes after weeks of reports detailing the atrocious conditions migrants are facing in U.S. detention facilities.
- Time to go on record: Speaker Pelosi has suggested that the House will hold a vote on a resolution condemning Trump’s bigoted attacks. They should—even the British and Canadian Prime Ministers have condemned them, and both Houses of Congress should make clear to the world and to our own kids that this is not what America is about.
Our politics are deeply polarized, but that shouldn’t prevent members of both parties from unequivocally condemning racism and calling out these comments as contrary to everything America stands for.