Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:07 pm
It was reported here last night that Trump wrecked his election hopes by turning his immigration policy speech into a Klan rally, what we might think of as a re-pivot, or a pivot of his pivot that almost was.
White nationalists were jubilant afterward, as happy coming out as going in, and certainly treated Trump’s speech like a Klan rally, calling it “Almost Perfect.†If, as has been argued, Trump is responsible for what people hear, then he must take credit for all those happy white racists.
Outspoken xenophobe and McCarthyist Ann Coulter was giddy, exultantly tweeting that “I hear Churchill had a nice turn of phrase, but Trump’s immigration speech is the most magnificent speech ever given.”
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And Lou Dobbs, who did so much while at CNN to stir up anti-immigrant hatred before he found his happy place at Fox News, added his two cents:
“We are Watching A Leader Who for the First Time in Three Presidencies Will Put America and Americans First!”
Jared Taylor, whom we’ve encountered before as editor of the non-profit American Renaissance, tweeted,
#TrumpAZ Hell of a speech. Almost perfect. Logical, deeply felt, and powerfully delivered. Now watch how the media twists it.
— Jared Taylor (@jartaylor) September 1, 2016
Taylor, you may remember, claims not to be a white supremacist, or to even know what the term means. So he knows something about twisting things. He also opined via another tweet that,
Donald Trump has tied our foolish immigration policies to every problem we have. This is a epochal, historic, unprecedented.”
Epochal… Right. Until Trump opens his mouth again, that is.
So how about former KKK leader David Duke, who was inspired by Trump to run for the United States Senate? Duke live-tweeted Trump’s speech, tweeting at one point,
Excellent speech by Donald Trump tonight. Deport criminal aliens, end catch and release, enforce immigration laws & America First.
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) September 1, 2016
The Alt-Right’s Daily Stormer, founded by neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin, live-streamed Trump’s speech. It also observed, on an unrelated but triumphant note, that Trump Jr. retweeted famous (infamous?) Anti-Semite Kevin MacDonald.
White supremacist Richard B. Spencer, a self-described “identitarian” who has been called by the Glenn Beck Show as the “Karl Marx of the Alt Right,” and who says “Race is what matters. I don’t care if an immigrant filled out the paperwork correctly,” tweeted,
Trump is returning to the ideas of the 1924 Immigration Act.
Immigrants will reflect the racial makeup of the country.#AmericaFirst
— Richard B. Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) September 1, 2016
Before putting his racist self to bed last night, Spencer, who is on record for wanting to replace the Declaration of Independence with a European “ethno state,” added one final tweet: “Trump Made Trump Trump Again.”
Mike Pence can claim the Trump campaign doesn’t want the support of these people, but the campaign’s rhetoric belies that claim. Trump is more than happy to have their support. Given the campaign’s scarcity of minority supporters, it depends upon them. And it is clear that Trump cemented a place in their hearts yesterday and no doubt secured their votes.
Fox News portrayed Trump’s visit to Mexico as a triumphal tour and you can be sure his racist followers will be equally blind to Trump’s glaring weakness when face-to-face with Mexico’s president.
Last night, Trump delivered what the white supremacists of the so-called “Alt-Right” wanted. He used all the right buzzwords, all the racist talking points and false data he could muster, in order to position himself as their champion, and therefore, as the enemy of all other Americans, not least the Mexicans he claims to love.
Photo: Twitter
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.
