In 2015, Donald Trump kick started his campaign with a speech that included the claim that Mexico was sending people with problems, and that many such people were rapists. The speech also included the unveiling of his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border for the sake of stopping illegal immigration.
Pundits were quick to cite racism. Since this time, Donald Trump has made other statements that have only increased the accusation, and has caused him to lose support even from fellow Republicans. Here is a partial list of the statements that many believe either show he’s a racist, or at least courting racist elements of the Republican party. He has:
- Claimed that Mexico was sending people with problems (including rapists)
- Constantly talked of beating China and Mexico
- Claimed that Judge Curiel couldn’t objectively handle his case because “He’s a Mexican“
- Refused to rule out the creation of a database of American Muslims
- Claimed he would kill not just ISIS members, but their family members as well
- Implied that Khizr Kahn’s wife was silent because she wasn’t allowed to speak
- Commented that Jeb Bush had a soft spot for Mexico because his wife is Mexican
- Supported the Birther Conspiracy (that Obama was born in Kenya)
People can debate the above points and individually they are likely defensible as far as actual racism charges go (for example, taken in context his statements regarding the rapists are specific to illegal immigrants, not “Mexicans” in general and Islam is a religion, not a race). Nevertheless the continued “us vs them” (with the “them” generally consisting of a minority of members from a different nation) have led some to conclude that he is either racist or at least instigating racist sentiment.
Fanning Racism
Whether or not Donald Trump has intended to instigate racist sentiments, the effect seems to be real, as racist incidents have been on the rise since the election,
See: There Have Now Been More Than 400 Racist Incidents in the U.S. Since Election Day
Here are a few examples of racist incidents since Donald Trump began running for office. These are instances that are attributable to Donald Trump (either the perpetrator names Trump or is clearly a Trump supporter).
Trump supporter harassing a man, uses the N word several times and says “black lives don’t matter”
Trump supporter’s racist tirade on Uber driver
Hispanic students being told they’re going to be deported.
Trump supporter tells Jorge Ramos “get out of my country”
Report of racist vandalism are also on the rise
“Donald Trump was never called a racist before running for President”
This claim is sometimes made in response to Trump’s racism accusations. However, the claim is demonstrably false. In 1973 the Department of Justice claimed sued the Trump Management Corporation for violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968:
In his 1991 book, Trumped!, a former Trump employee claimed that Donald Trump often made racist statements, including:
And isn’t it funny. I’ve got black accountants at Trump Castle and Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. . . . I think the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.
And in a incident where he testified before House Native American Affairs Subcommittee in 1993:
They don’t look like Indians to me and they don’t look like Indians to Indians,
Conclusions
Readers can draw their own conclusions regarding Donald Trump and racist sentiment (whether he himself has, is intentionally fanning it, or (n)one of the above) from the above.
