Trump’s Hate Agenda is Black and White!

On June 19th the nation celebrated “Juneteenth National Independence Day”, which has been a federal holiday since 2021.  It commemorates the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger ordered the enforcement of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, effectively ending slavery in the United States. How did President Trump celebrate this momentous day in our history? He ignored it!
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Some people may view this as another example of Trump’s racist and white nationalist tendencies. I view it as consistent with Trump’s “anti-woke” and “anti-DEI” agenda. On the surface, Trump’s efforts to scrub the government and society at large of woke policies (diversity, inclusion, and progressive social and political ideas), is a backlash against Biden’s policies which pushed the government too far left. It was one of the reasons that Trump won a second term and he is leaning into it. But I think that there is something more insidious at play. Through dozens of executive orders, speeches, interviews and budget priorities, the worst of Trump is being revealed. He is revising history to portray himself and “his” America in a sanitized version that never existed. But more importantly, his policies favor those that he considers “good” Americans at the expense of the poor, marginalized and minority groups.  

Trump Reveals Himself in First Term: Early in his first term Trump instituted a series of travel bans on several Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and Africa, as well as Haiti. In closed door meetings at the White House, Trump was reported to have said, “Why do we want all these people from shithole countries coming here?” He went on to comment that the U.S. should get more people from countries like Norway. I guess he meant that he would prefer people of White European heritage like himself. Trump’s travel bans were eliminated by the Biden administration.
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A few months into his first term Trump came under fire for not condemning the protests by white nationalists at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. The rally erupted in violence resulting in the death of a young woman. In response to a reporter’s question about the rally Trump said that there were “some very fine people on both sides”. The rally was attended by white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and far-right militias who opposed the removal of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a public park.    

Ending DEI Programs: Two executive orders signed in the opening days of Trump’s new administration set in motion the end to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, labelling them “illegal and immoral discrimination”.  These orders apply to all departments within the federal government, federal contractors, and institutions receiving federal grants. The Department of Justice has been tasked with eliminating illegal DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs and activities in the private sector and in education institutions that receive federal funds.

Trump’s actions to end DEI programs rescind President Johnson’s 1965 executive order which established the prohibition on employment discrimination by federal contractors based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Trump’s orders also eliminated affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunities for all. Ending affirmative action programs in hiring and higher education will have the greatest impact on Black people and other minorities. Enrollment of Black students at top universities has already declined, and protections against discrimination in the workplace will now take a backseat to policing “illegal” DEI programs.
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Who benefits most from the elimination of DEI programs? Those who feel they are the victims of reverse discrimination, mainly White people. 

​Budget Priorities: A federal budget reflects the priorities and values of the government. The U.S. Senate is currently debating the Reconciliation package (Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill) which will cut hundreds of billions of dollars in safety net programs to make permanent tax cuts that disproportionately benefit high-income earners. Low-income families and minorities will be harmed the most if the bill passes in its current form. Millions of people will lose healthcare coverage due to Medicaid cuts and new eligibility requirements. Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will make it more difficult for millions of low-income families to afford healthy food. The Reconciliation package includes changes to the student loan and Pell Grant programs, putting higher education out of reach for more low-income students.  

Whitewashing American History: The Trump administration has been busy removing or modifying thousands of web pages across the federal government. Websites and databases have been scrubbed of words such as “black”, “women”, “injustice”, oppression”, “discrimination”, and others. The Department of Defense removed web pages dedicated to Black veterans like the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, and other minorities. Many of these pages were restored after public outcry, but the intent to minimize the accomplishments of minority veterans was made clear.  By minimizing the accomplishments of Black people and other minorities it amplifies the accomplishments of White service members. Trump is selectively altering the public record to reconstruct his preferred vision of America and is instructing all government agencies to do the same.
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Whitewashing in the context of history is also known as “historical negationism” or “historical revisionism”. It refers to the practice of minimizing or negating aspects of history to present a more favorable version of events. The danger is that it promotes a particular political ideology and distorts the understanding of our past, thus hindering our ability to learn from our past mistakes and holding those responsible accountable. Here are a few more examples:

Pardons for January 6 Defendants: In one of his first official acts of his second term President Trump issued a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to over 1500 individuals convicted of crimes related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump also commuted the sentences of fourteen others, including Steward Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio, leaders of right-wing extremist groups convicted of seditious conspiracy.
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Trump has called the attacks on the police officers defending the Capitol on January 6, “very minor incidents”. He referred to those convicted and jailed as “political prisoners” and claimed that they were “absolutely innocent”. This feeds the narrative that those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, are innocent, and therefore Trump is innocent for having sent them there. Afterall, the narrative goes, what happened at the Capitol on that day of infamy was a legitimate protest against an election that was stolen from Donald Trump. 

​​Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History: This executive ordered signed by Trump in March attempts to “correct the widespread effort to rewrite our nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth”. Wow, this executive order seems to do the exact opposite by censoring the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service. Here’s the impact of the order:

​Smithsonian: The executive order claims that the Smithsonian (a Washington D.C. based complex of 17 museums, galleries and zoo) has “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray America and Western Values as inherently harmful and oppressive”. The order goes on to state that “museums in our Nation’s Capital should be places where individuals go to learn-not be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history”. Mr. President, by showing the history our country from a White perspective and omitting the perspectives of Native Americans, enslaved Americans, and other marginalized groups, doesn’t that distort our shared history?

The executive order prohibits the funding of any exhibit or program that degrades shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promotes programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal laws and policy. In other words, only those programs and exhibits that don’t offend White sensibilities will be funded.

National Parks, Monuments and Memorials: The executive order mandates that the National Park Service, which oversees 433 national parks, monuments and historical sites, coverup or remove all “descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times) and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people”.​Signs have already been posted at all National Park Service sites asking visitors to report anything they consider inappropriate. QR codes on the signs make it easy for citizens to report any “offensive” material. All plaques, signs, exhibits, films, ranger programs and written literature will now be scrutinized by Big Brother and his newly deputized informants. Any inappropriate material must be scrubbed by September 17th, Constitution Day.

You better hurry before the following parks and monuments become sanitized: Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Minidoka Japanese Internment Camp, Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, MLK Jr. National Historical Park, Stonewall National Monument, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, and Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, just to name a few.  

Immigration and Travel Ban Polices: The travel bans that the Trump administration has recently put into place mirror those from his first administration; targeting Muslim-majority and African countries. A complete travel ban is in effect for Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Heightened travel restrictions have been placed on the people of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Toga, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. There are some legitimate security concerns involving some of these countries, but to portray entire populations as security risks is inherently racist.
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As Trump’s well publicized mass deportation of illegal immigrants ramped up, his suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has garnered much less attention. By executive order Trump stopped funding of services for refugees already in our country and left over 120,000 refugees who had previously been vetted and approved stranded in their home countries. Most of these refugees are from Africa and Afghanistan but now have nowhere to go after selling everything they had to resettle in the U.S.

The blatant racism of this policy became crystal clear when Trump revised his executive order to allow 59 White South Africans (Afrikaners) to immigrate to the U.S. under the refugee program. Trump justified his decision by claiming that the Afrikaners were victims of genocide even though there is no shred of evidence to the claim. It’s hard to dispute that if you want to jump to the head of the line of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program it helps to be White. 

​Other Troubling Policies and Actions:

1. Termination of N.I.H Grants: Beginning in March the Trump administration began terminating hundreds of National Institute of Health (N.I.H.) grants for research into such topics as health equity, racial disparities, maternal health in minority communities, and issues specific to women, Black communities and L.G.B.T.Q. people. Last week a federal judge declared some of these grant cuts “void and illegal”. In his ruling the judge accused the government of racial discrimination and prejudice against L.G.B.T.Q. individuals. The judge went on to state that during his career he had “never seen racial discrimination like this” and felt that it was his duty to call it out.
2. Transgender Policies: A series of executive orders signed by Trump effectively eliminates most federal protections for transgender and non-binary people. The federal government will now only recognize two sexes, male and female, which are unchangeable. The government is taking active steps to restrict or ban access to gender affirming care, particularly for people under the age of 19. Individuals who identify as transgender are now disqualified from serving in the military, and transgender girls and women are banned from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
3. F.A.A. Investigation: At the request of the Trump administration the Federal Aviation Administration is spending $ 2 million to investigate whether hiring Black and other minority air traffic controllers has resulted in any of the recent accidents involving commercial aircraft.   
4. Harvey Milk: Earlier this month the Defense Secretary ordered the Navy to rename the ship that bears the name of slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk. According to a Navy spokesman, it was no accident that the request to rename the ship occurred during Pride Month. I guess a gay man doesn’t exemplify the “warrior culture” of Pete Hegseth’s new military.

​Is Trump a Racist: Far be it from me to label Trump a racist. But intentionally or not his policies and directives are doing real harm to minority groups within our country. Trump’s preference for White immigrants over Black and Muslim immigrants speaks volumes, as does his blatant whitewashing of American history to sanitize the image of White culture. Trump’s budget priorities will strip minority communities of needed health care, create more food insecurity and financial instability. Federal protections for many marginalized groups have been stripped away during his all-out assault on DEI programs.  Call Trump what you will, but his agenda of hate is taking a toll of the lives of real Americans, and whatever his motivations they are certainly not making America great again.
 
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Thanks,
Armchair American