There’s a risk that I’m overreacting, but I’ll ask this
anyway: In Donald Trump’s continuing strength, are we witnessing the rise of a
disturbing new political movement rooted in nationalism and ethnic hatred?
I’ve been concerned about Trump’s rantings for months, but
until recently I thought he had no chance to be nominated, let alone be
elected. Now, despite Ted Cruz’s recent surge, I wouldn’t bet against Trump. And
just as scary is the racism and xenophobia that Trump’s candidacy has
unleashed.
Thousands of people are cheering him on at campaign events. In Iowa, in New Hampshire, in Arizona, South Carolina, Alabama.
How real is that support? It’s hard to tell. But Trump is
leading in nearly all the polls. And until this past weekend, none of Trump’s
outrages had dented his poll numbers – not his mocking of John McCain’s Vietnam
War record, not his slurs against Mexicans, not his call for keeping Muslims
out of the country.
And late last week, the New England Police Benevolent
Association – which represents about 200 local police and corrections-facility
unions – endorsed Trump for president.
Will all of this translate into the Republican nomination? I
still think not. Trump isn’t the first American who has captured public
enthusiasm by capitalizing on fear and bigotry. Usually, in the end, we come to
our senses. And surely, one way or another, that’ll happen before next
November.
But that won’t undo the immense damage Trump is doing, to
the Republican Party, and to the entire country. And it won’t cork the hatred
he has set loose.
In the New York Times last weekend, Timothy
Egan noted that several white supremacist leaders are publicly praising
Trump.
Those few extremists “probably don’t amount to a hill of
beans,” said Egan. “But what about the 35 percent of Republican voters, in the
New York Times/CBS News poll, who say they’re all in with the man siegheiled by aspiring brownshirts and men in white sheets?”
“What he’s done is to give marginalized Americans permission
to hate,” Egan said.
“Donald Trump isn’t the problem,” said
the headline on a Slate article. “It’s time we face the fact that he’s just
channeling the bigotry of the Republican Party’s base.”
Actually, Trump seems to be channeling the bigotry – and the
hatred and anger – of people of all political persuasions. It’s hard to
calculate how much deeper his support runs than the crowds turning out at his
rallies. But we have no reason to think they’re all Republicans. No reason at
all.
“Well, if the media would just quit paying attention to him,”
more than one person has said to me. On the contrary, the media need to keep up
the coverage, and all of us need to pay attention – to what Trump says, how the
public is responding, and what that says about this country.
Trump’s rivals seem paralyzed, trapped between wanting to
pull the campaign in a saner direction and not wanting to offend his
supporters. Republican Party leaders are apparently taking him seriously, at
last, and are discussing ways to keep the nomination out of his hands.
But their goal is just to keep him from destroying their
party’s reputation and its chance to win the presidency and keep control of the
House and the Senate. Hardly any are speaking out against the language – and
the man himself – as contrary to American values. Hardly any are warning that
Trump’s rants can inspire violence and hatred. Hardly any have noted that he is
a threat to the country, its citizens, and its reputation abroad.
Their silence speaks volumes, about them, and about their
principles. And their silence, like the roars of the crowds at the Trump
rallies, suggests a danger every bit as scary as the terrorism they’re obsessed
with.
Note that it’s the xenophobic Cruz who is gaining on Trump.
This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2015.
You are definitely overreacting to what you call “giving rise to a new political movement rooted in nationalism and ethnic hatred.” You want people to think that because you want to demonize Trump for all to hate.
No, you and the rest of the left wing media take his words out of context and spin them to sound as if he was a bigot, which he is not. Then you associate right wing, supremacist, hate groups with him in order to make a contrived negative connection.
You chose those associations because everyone knows they are bad people and that’s how you want Trump to be viewed. Your writing displays more hate, bitterness and fear of Trump than you need; he may or may not be in the final running, so don’t get upset.
Besides, it’s not nice to speak ill of people you really don’t know.
Can’t you just stick to his bad hair, we all know that?
“Their silence speaks volumes, about them, and about their principles. ” I agree, but I believe that silence, in general is the problem in our politics. As Thoreau said:
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” (Walden)
=====================================
Rather than silence, I think we need, ongoing debate and openness, all the time. If we don’t speak and listen to one another, nothing changes, and it gets all so boring. Donald Trump, with his outrageous talk is waking us up, in a way. We need to be woken up, one way or another.
Here in Rochester, too, we need to break the silence, to make changes and wake people up. Perhaps the Donald will come to Rochester and wake us up!
Trump isn’t scaring me or anyone I know one bit. In fact it’s good to know that someone in his position and power wants to return our country to where we once were. A shining beacon of strength and security.
What scares me is Obama, who seems hell bent on destroying this country. What also scares me is the liberal press who HAVEN’T DONE THEIR JOB and the education system that is destroying our youth
I would like to think much of Trump’s support simply is for his candor…his willingness to say off the cuff remarks that reflect his true thoughts. If only all candidates could be that way.
Where is the rabid environmentalist we have needed for so long, who is unafraid to step on some business interests? Where is the progressive counterpart to Trump? Sanders, maybe. Certainly not Hillary.
But good talkers or entertaing talkers do not always translate into good leaders. President Obama was an inspirational speaker but totally let me down when it came to action. I imagine Trump supporters would be in for an even bigger let down. Some of what Trump is promising is unconstitutional and would never happen, which offer peace of mind to many.
There is that old phrase which comes to mind after reading your column, “It takes one to know one”. You see, you have accused Mr. Trump of being a bigot. Well if you takes a review of the definition, bigot, it states: ” a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions.” Sure sounds like you. I am sure what causes the most fear for you, the liberals, the media and the establishment Republicans is that just maybe the average citizen has had enough of being told what they should think, that the real enemy is not the extremist Muslim, that climate change is a real threat to our future when there is plenty of evidence otherwise and I can go on. The liberal story has lost its momentum because all have seen though its false narrative. Trump just happens to be the one not afraid to state things as they really are and people are applauding his message.
Xenophobic Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is the most hated member of congress. His success is a testament to the enduring strength of The Tea Party.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, is ahead in the polls mostly because he’s so likable. His demeanor doesn’t embody ethnic hatred. If it did, people wouldn’t like him, follow him, or cheer him on.
Trump says what others would like to say but can’t. He’s not a hateful bigot. He’s probably just as surprised as everyone else that he’s still the front-runner.
Oh the hysteria, Ms. Towler! You talk about Mr. Trump as though he has proposed something (curtailing Muslim immigration to this country, at least temporarily) as un-American, un-constitutional or unprecedented. What is un-American about wanting to protect our country? Name the article and section in the Constitution that mandates we admit to our shores anybody who wishes to come here. As for precedents, have you ever heard of FDR? As Jeffrey Lord correctly observed a while ago in the American Spectator, he was Trump on steroids. My mother (a non-naturalized Italian citizen) was an “enemy alien” after Pearl Harbor. You are correct in saying that Trump’s support is not just among republicans. There are, believe it or not, sane democrats. I am not “sieg heiling” Donald Trump but he has made an eminently reasonable proposal notwithstanding his flamboyant style and hairdo.
Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and ask yourself “where would I be now” if my ancestors had not been allowed into the US?
Candor, in the form of one-liners, devoid of supporting fact and logic, doesn’t constitute a case for The Donald’s qualifications.