POLITICUSUSA
A big talking point for the current incarnation of the GOP is that racism doesn’t exist. During his recent address to America, Joe Biden talked about systemic racism and how the country might combat the issue.
Joe Biden has notched plenty of accomplishments during his first few months in office. And while he’s reached out to Republicans about his policy goals, he’s been happy to move on without them if they weren’t willing to compromise.
When George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin last summer, there was essentially no one willing to defend him. Even the talking heads on Fox News recognized how clear the evidence was against the officer.
Donald Trump did a terrible job of containing the coronavirus once it hit American shores. Rather than taking on any criticism, Trump instead tried to paint COVID as “The China Virus.”
And Trump’s words have been blamed in part for the rash of violence against Asians in the country. When he began blaming the Chinese for the virus, Meghan McCain claimed it was a smart strategy that would help him win votes.
Meng’s insistence that “We will not let you take our voice” encapsulates the impetus behind the multiple but absolutely connected struggles for democracy and against repression.
Representative Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) pointed to a new study published in The American Journal of Public Health that found former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric led to a rise of anti-Asian sentiment online to suggest that Asian voters cost him the presidency.
“Asian Americans are the fastest increasing group in America, with eligible voters more than doubling since 2000,” Lieu tweeted this morning. “In states like CA, [Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders] are the 2nd largest ethnic group. The former President attacked & mocked Asian Americans. We voted. He lost. Attack us at your own peril.”
Asian Americans are the fastest increasing group in America, with eligible voters more than doubling since 2000. In states like CA, AAPIs are the 2nd largest ethnic group.
The former President attacked & mocked Asian Americans. We voted. He lost. Attack us at your own peril. https://t.co/iawVRALjZI
Former President Donald Trump was often criticized over the last year for his use of the phrase “China virus” to refer to the novel coronavirus, the virus that causes Covid-19. Trump would often employ the phrase in official communications via his Twitter account. It was also picked up by right-wing news outlets like Fox News, which have designed their coverage to explicitly blame the Chinese government for the pandemic and its effects on American life.
Amid all this, human rights groups have expressed concern that the use of the phrase would contribute to an uptick in anti-Asian violence with numerous places around the country reporting random attacks against Asian citizens. A national conversation on anti-Asian violence has taken center-stage again since authorities arrested a gunman who shot and killed eight people and injured one at three Atlanta-area spas. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent.
In the wake of the shooting, Representative Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) has criticized Trump for emboldening racists and stoking violence.
“When I first heard the former president use words like ‘kung flu’ and ‘Chinese virus,’ I was really horrified. And every time he said it, I thought, okay, this will be the last time. He couldn’t possibly continue to use it,” Meng said during an
Things were not so good for Fox News close to the last election. After 20 years of ratings dominance, Fox began to fall behind MSNBC and CNN. Even worse, Conservative challengers like OAN and Newsmax were coming out of the woodwork.
In response, the network decided to double down on conspiracy theories and racism. No one has embodied that reaction more than prime-time host Tucker Carlson.
Carlson has spent the last two months either downplaying the effectiveness of COVID vaccines or spewing racist drivel. He was at his most bigoted on Wednesday night.
The host asked viewers, “Over the past 30 years, the population of the United States has exploded by nearly 100 million people, mostly due to immigration. Were you even aware that that happened?”
Carlson continued:
“You’re not supposed to say a word about it, as every year the United States gets steadily more jammed with people, and at the same time, more chaotic and less cohesive, as the open spaces shrink, as nature itself recedes in the face of yet another strip mall or apartment complex or fast food outlet to serve the new people. This is becoming a crowded country, and crowded countries are ugly, unhappy countries. Why are we letting that happen? Well, that’s a rhetorical question, of course. No one asked us what we wanted, they just did it.”
On Wednesday, an Atlanta Sheriff held a press conference about the rash of shootings that left 8 dead yesterday. Rather than show empathy for the victims, Jay Baker seemed to be making excuses for the shooter.
The Cherokee Country cop told reporters, “They got that impression, he did understand the gravity and was fed up and at the end of his rope and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.”
Cherokee County Sheriff said that it was a really bad day "for him" the Atlanta mass shooter yesterday. What about the 8 people that he killed? Having a bad day does not give a person the right to buy a gun and kill others. pic.twitter.com/V3ywrU9iwv
Donald Trump may now be out of office, but Ron Johnson is making sure the stain of Trumpism remains in the Senate chambers. The Wisconsin senator has spent the last few weeks lying about the insurrection, spreading false vaccination info and generally being a massive racist.
Johnson’s behavior has not gone unnoticed by his colleagues. During a Tuesday floor speech, Bob Menendez ripped into the GOP lawmaker.
The New Jersey Democrat began, “Senator Johnson said he never feared for his safety [during the Jan. 6th siege of the U.S. Captiol]. Johnson went on to say that ‘under different circumstances he would have been afraid; had the tables been turned and had those been Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters, I might have been afraid.’ Is that not racism,’ Mr. President?’ Menendez. My colleague may be ignorant about the pain his comments caused.”
Menendez continued, “
The violent picture they paint of this movement is factually inaccurate. The Black Lives Matter movement is overwhelmingly peaceful. I know many people don’t care about facts these days but it is the truth.”
When things don’t go Donald Trump’s way, it is always someone else’s fault. The 45th president spent the entirety of his term painting himself as a victim. And that sense of victimhood has trickled down to Conservative media and Trump supporters.
This week, House Impeachment Managers have laid out a devastating case against the Trump supporters who stormed that Capitol on January 6th. And this has left a lot of people feeling attacked. Newsmax’s Greg Kelly is certainly one of those people. During his Thursday night show, Kelly described the hearing as racist against white people.
The Newsmax host began by asking:
“So what’s going on here? Oh, there is a racial component. Have you noticed? Let’s talk about this, all right? It’s clear to me that there is a racial component. Because right now in America, who doesn’t have much status? White folk. Especially poor, white folk. Especially poor, white people who stormed the Capitol. They should not have done it and I think the rioters should be prosecuted.”
Senate Republicans are now gearing up to acquit Trump in an impeachment trial on the specious rationale that putting a former officeholder on trial is unconstitutional, even though legal scholars, including some from the conservative Federalist Society, have broadly affirmed the constitutionality of such a proceeding.
Too many in America, caught in throes of misinformation and conspiracy theories, are busy slaying mythical dragons rather than engaging in the truly wise, loving, and heroic activities of the real revolution for democracy.
Donald Trump has always said that he is a great friend to people of Jewish faith. How could he be anti-Semitic, Trump argues, his son-in-law Jared Kushner is Jewish and his daughter Ivanka converted when she married him.
But the president has also been slow to condemn his supporters who have anti-Semitic beliefs. After white supremacists marched in the city of Charlottesville, Virginia chanting “Jews will not replace us,” Trump famously referred to them as “very fine people.”
And now, it seems that some of Trump’s supporters associate his name with anti-Semitism and racism. A Jewish cemetery was recently defaced with vandals spray painting the name Trump on headstones.
Notably the incident took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump will be holding the final rally on his campaign in Grand Rapids.
The vandalism was first reported by the Anti-Defamation League of Michigan, who tweeted, “We are appalled by the reported desecration of gravestones at the Ahavas Israel Cemetery in Grand Rapids, MI. We are in close touch with the Jewish community and Law Enforcement to investigate this vandalism.”
We are appalled by the reported desecration of gravestones at the Ahavas Israel Cemetery in Grand Rapids, MI. We are in close touch with the Jewish community and Law Enforcement to investigate this vandalism. pic.twitter.com/mVeGrlsWxE
According to the latest Monmouth poll, 61 percent of Americans say the way President Donald Trump is handling nationwide protests is actually worsening things, not making them better.
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Most Americans (61%) say that Trump’s handling of the protests has made the situation worse and just 24% say he has made it better. These results are basically unchanged from late June (62% worse and 20% better). Nearly 9 in 10 non-Republicans say Trump has made the situation worse, including 88% who are white, 87% who are Black, and 86% who are of another racial minority group. Republicans and GOP-leaners stand alone in their feeling that the president has made the situation better (46%) rather than worse (30%). These findings are similar to the late June poll results,” Monmouth observes.
According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released today, the majority of Americans believe the way President Donald Trump is responding to civil unrest is making things worse.
55 percent of Americans say they believe Trump is worsening matters as the nation grapples with a slew of protests against racism and police brutality. 29 percent said they don’t believe Trump’s comments have had an effect on protests.
30 percent of Republicans believe the president’s rhetoric is improving things, though 26 percent say otherwise. Among
white, non-college educated Americans, a key voting bloc for the president, just 18 percent believe his rhetoric has been successful and 41 percent say his comments have negatively impacted the national conversation on racial inequity.
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner dismissed NBA players who’ve opted not to play games as part of a protest against police brutality against Black Americans, saying they are “fortunate” to have enough wealth to “take a night off from work.”
“I think the NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they’re able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences for themselves financially,” Kushner said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “So they have that luxury, which is great.”
“With the NBA, there’s a lot of activism and I think that they put a lot of slogans out, but I think that we need to turn that from slogans and signals to actual action that’s gonna solve the problem,” he added.
Kushner went on to tout the president’s “historic criminal justice reform,” giving particular mention to the creation of Opportunity Zones, which say states may designate up to 25% of low-income census tracts.
“We just have to take this conversation from an emotional one to a constructive one and say what are the policies that we can agree on,” Kushner said, urging the United States to “come together on a policy platform.”
You can watch Kushner’s interview below.
"The NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they're able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially," says White House senior advisor Jared Kushner on the NBA player boycotts last night. pic.twitter.com/nHlRBNIzaf
Marc Short, the Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, criticized NBA players who’ve opted not to play games as part of a protest against police brutality against Black Americans, calling the boycotts “absurd” and “silly.”
“I don’t know that you’re going to see the administration weigh in on that one way or the other. In my mind, it’s absurd, it’s silly,” Short told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on “New Day” when asked if the vice president supports the boycott.
“If they want to protest, I don’t think we care,” he added, noting that the administration shouldn’t speak out on the boycott “one way or the other.”
Last night, @Mike_Pence drew a contrast between an America that continues to hope for more freedoms but also continues to protect our law enforcement vs. an America that would lead to socialism and decline and continue to attack our law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/RlGDZnTo7H
Karen Bass has accused Donald Trump of emboldening racists and of running a racist reelection campaign. The Democratic congresswoman said there’s clear evidence for the President’s own prejudices.
Bass is considered a major contender for former Vice President Joe Biden’s VP nod. She spoke to CNN’s David Axelrod on Thursday about Trump and was asked if she thinks he’s a racist.
“Yes, I do. I don’t think there’s anything new about that,” she said.
“I think he’s second generation, I mean, his father was. They were charged with discrimination, housing discrimination, sued by the federal government.”
“Everything that has come out of his mouth, not just against Black people, I mean, he started his campaign with racist attacks on Mexicans,” Bass went on.
“He’s attacked Native Americans and his latest attacks are on Asian Americans by calling the [Coronavirus] as the China virus. And there has been attacks against the Asian Pacific Islander community. “
“People have been hurt because of his essentially giving license to racists that might have been a little dormant for a minute, but who now feel completely emboldened and empowered.”
Bass added that Trump’s approach to his reelection this year was in part to appeal to racism.
“I’m very clear that the Republican Party has two strategies for this election. And one is to resurrect the ghost of Joe McCarthy and the Cold War,” she said.
“And two is to resurrect the ghost of George Wallace and run a racist campaign.”
Bass pointed to Trump’s recent comments about low income housing in the suburbs and added: “You know, I think that he doesn’t use dog whistles. He uses a bullhorn.”
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Ted Cruz has lashed out at Oprah Winfrey after she openly discussed the issue of white privilege in a new interview. The Republican senator accused Winfrey of racism.
Cruz sent a tweet sharing an article from conservative outlet The Blaze slamming Winfrey for highlighting white privilege during an interview on her new Apple TV+ show The Oprah Conversation.
“Billionaire Oprah lectures the rest of us,” Cruz wrote.
Billionaire Oprah lectures the rest of us:
"You still have your whiteness. That's what the term 'white privilege' is. It means that whiteness still gives you an advantage, no matter.”
What utter, racist BS. https://t.co/02PADVJkrZ