Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Most of us are aware of Donald Trump’s habit of routinely espousing devious and derogatory rhetoric. What we apparently were unaware of was the boundaries he was willing to cross, and his willingness to parrot the words of one of the most sadistic and scurrilous human beings to ever walk this earth.
During a campaign stop at a hockey rink in New Hampshire, Trump echoed the words of Adolf Hitler with comments about migrants from mostly Africa, Asia and South America “poisoning the blood of our country.” This phrase is mentioned a number of times in Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” to describe the “influx of foreign blood” as “poison.”
When asked about such problematic remarks, most Republicans refused to respond. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator who flip flops with the frequency of a weathervane, said, “We’re talking about language. I could care less what language people use as long as we get it right.”
On the contrary, Chris Christie, one of Trump’s most diehard critics on the right, wasted no time going after Trump, “He’s disgusting,” Christie said. “And what he’s doing is dog-whistling to Americans who feel absolutely under stress and strain from the economy and from the conflicts around the world.”
Christie is one of the few Republican politicians who have any semblance of a political spine. After all, did Graham believe that Trump was “right” in the language he espoused? If so, what was he spot on about? The fact that Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy – both the products of immigration themselves – refused to weigh in on the issue demonstrates how low the party of Lincoln has sunk.
The Biden campaign wasted little time in seizing on such rancid commentary, slamming Trump for parroting Hitler, praising Kim Jong Un, and quoting Vladimir Putin.
“Trump is not shying away from his plan to lock up millions of people into detention camps and continues to lie about that time when Joe Biden obliterated him by over 7 million votes three years ago,” Biden’s campaign said in a statement. “Echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all Americans, on our democracy, and on public safety,”
While I agree with the Biden White House that such rhetoric is deplorable, the reality is there are many Americans who concur with Trump’s perverse assessment. These men and women see America as a nation by, of and for white people, and that everyone else is not entitled to reside within its borders and have no right to partake in its advantages.
If reelected, Trump has vowed to complete the border wall, reimplement travel bans and spearhead mass deportation efforts. He has also pledged to outlaw birthright citizenship for those born to immigrants living in the country illegally. Thus, whenever Donald Trump gleefully embraces such “blood and soil” rhetoric at rallies on the campaign trail, it is eagerly anticipated catnip for his diehard MAGA supporters to feast upon.
Racial, gender and cultural politics have always been at the forefront of American society. Think slavery, suffrage, civil rights. Today the dissension is splintered across several issues, including immigration, race, abortion, sexuality, free speech, and religious freedom.
The current Republican Party has become so rapacious and amoral in its blind thirst for power, it seems determined to nullify any election outcomes or social movements not conducive to their agenda.
Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. Contact him at: