Trump’s closing act: I am racist, hear me roar
The Trump campaign billed yesterday’s Madison Square Garden rally as his closing message. Fittingly, it featured speaker after speaker spewing racist bile that would make even David Duke blush. A so-called comic warmed up the crowd with a set so vile that ridiculing Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage” was his least offensive joke. But the irony is that, in tragicomedies like the one Trump’s MAGA cult is playing out, the joker is always the one who tells the truth. So insulting Blacks, Latinos, Jews, and Muslims was just his way of warning them of their fate if they’re foolish enough to vote for Trump.
But this rally merely reinforced a prevailing Trumpian presumption: As it has been with evangelicals Christians and Republican politicians, it is now with (far too many) Latinos, Jews, and Muslims, namely the more contempt he shows them, the more loyalty they show him. Sure enough, just days ago, Muslim leaders in Michigan made a big show of endorsing Trump. Then along comes this rally, making them look like delusional, self-hating pawns.
Non-White Americans, Trump keeps showing you who he is, believe him
Trump’s campaign put out a predictably hypocritical statement to ‘distance’ him from the bile his speakers spewed. But let’s not forget, Trump himself has said far worse on the campaign trail.
And yes, polls show a disturbing percentage of Black men leaning Trumpward. But Kamala will still pull numbers on par with Obama. Why? Because we learned from Maya Angelou and took Trump at his word when he showed us who he was — whether with his “Central Park Five” vendetta or the birther nonsense aimed at Obama.
But I urge Puerto Ricans to remember how Trump made their leaders “get on their knees” for hurricane aid, then added insult by throwing paper towels at locals to deal with the floods. Muslims, remember his anti-Muslim travel ban, and that he’s threatening to round you up in his mass deportation to make America White again. And Jews, remember how Trump normalized antisemitic tropes, notably questioning your loyalty while insisting you owe him your votes for what he did for Israel.
Coming full circle, kudos to Latino celebs like Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, JLo, and Geraldo “f**k these racists” Rivera, who countered this racist rally by endorsing Kamala. They’re taking a cue from Black celebs like Beyoncé, Oprah, Stevie Wonder, and Tyler Perry. It’s a shame no Muslim or Jewish celebrity has followed their inspired lead.
