Trumps Dog Whistle was Heard Loud & Clear
the response just wasn’t what he was expecting
Proverbs 15:1
On July 14 of this summer, Donald Trump sent out a tweet stating that four Democratic House Representatives should go back to their countries. It didn’t matter that three of those four women he had singled out were born in the U.S, and all of them are citizens of this country. It didn’t even matter that those sentiments don’t just apply to those women; they apply to every American who may have a tie to another country and is also passionate about the way America can change for the better. The statement wasn’t really meant to cause harm, to alienate or to enrage, though it did all those things. Once emotions subside, it is easy to see the statements for what they truly were: a dog whistle.
Trump made those statements to remind his people that he is still very much on their side. He wanted to reassure them that, despite the way things may look at the moment, he has their best interest at heart. Whether Trump himself is a white supremacist is something which can be hotly contested. However, it is undeniably clear that he is a White nationalist sympathizer. He only speaks against White Nationalism and its insidious ideology when backed against a corner. When he feels no real pressure though, he makes the sort statements he made concerning he violence in Charlottesville. As has been shown since before he even ran for office, Trump speaks rather recklessly, without any regard for how his words might affect something on a large scale. He tends to say things for the immediacy of it; for example, sending out insulting tweets. It’s to cause injury to a specific individual at a point in time. This is the reason why he appears to have no recollection of, or straight up denies making, certain comments he’s made when they are brought back up by reporters some days later. His words are for the here and now, that’s it. Once they are out of his mouth, they’re forgotten. However, the tragic event of this past weekend shows Trumps words are not so easily forgotten by others.
A young man, the age of 21, left his home and drove over 8 hours to massacre people he didn’t know. He didn’t need to know them. He knew they would most likely be Hispanic, given the demographic of the area he had traveled to. That was enough. This young man is a White nationalist, one driven to commit a large scale act of violence. It would be remiss to forget the history of this nation, so this is not the first time oblivious, innocent people have died for nothing more than being born the “wrong” race. It is, perhaps, the first time in very recent history where a person committing such an act could reasonably believe they had the sitting presidents’ support.
Did Trump directly influence this young man to carry out such an atrocious act? No, most likely not. What Trump has done though, is poked at the festering wound this nation has. Poke at it long enough, and it will flare up. Unfortunately, the flare up aren’t pretty and can manifest itself in a number of ways. As has been shown throughout history, violence is the most common. Whether Trump truly believes in the ideology of White Supremacy is moot. He enables and emboldens those who do. Trump is an accomplice, if not a culprit. Either way, he is still guilty.
