Americans probably thought President Donald Trump couldn’t get much lower than insulting the parents of a Muslim American Gold Star soldier killed in combat while serving as an Army captain in Iraq. But Trump keeps managing to dig himself deeper.
After refusing to disavow former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Trump defended white nationalists in an August protest clash that ended with a woman’s death in Charlottesville, Va. He made fun of a disabled reporter, mocked Mexicans, stoked fear over undocumented immigrants and encouraged a white supremacist fan club.
All that was before last week, when Trump resurrected the myth of President Barack Obama’s birthplace and by implication, questioned Obama’s presidential legitimacy. He caused a diplomatic spat with Prime Minister Theresa May by retweeting hate-filled anti-Muslim videos posted by a far-right British group. And he referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” in a ceremony honoring Navajo veterans of World War II.
These actions can’t be brushed aside by simply saying the president is tone deaf. They are far too destructive and repeated too often for that. Trump promotes an effective doctrine of white supremacy at a time when America is becoming more embroiled in racial discord — much of which Trump has created.
There is nothing presidential in bashing people of color. Trump’s own legitimacy erodes daily when he attempts with tweets and backfired quips to normalize racism. The nation’s alliance with its closest partner, Britain, now stands in tatters because of his blundering.
Under Trump’s watch, an FBI report in August warned that a “Black Identity Extremist” movement is sweeping the nation and threatening the lives of law enforcement officers. The report links unconnected incidents to make it appear as if an ideological organization is coordinating individual acts of violence. Yet when questioned about the report by members of the Congressional Black Caucus, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray could not identify a single black identity extremist group.
Why the Trump administration wants to venture down this dangerous path is beyond us. Trump probably believes he benefits by rousing his so-called base — many of whom he has attracted by deploying code language for hate speech. Rather than be horrified, his staunch supporters see him as a plain-speaking fighter who bypasses the mainstream media to get his message out.
Trump’s success has never depended on thoughtful expression of policy and facts. He asserts a defense of traditional American values yet tramples on constitutional rights and denigrates the notion of a free press whenever he embarrasses himself and the news media quote his actual words.
Nobody forced Trump to retweet those anti-Muslim videos or insult Navajo World War II heroes with his “Pocahontas” joke. Trump simply keeps encountering his worst enemy. And that is Donald Trump.
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch
