Horowitz: On White Nationalism, Trump is Part of the Problem

Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Rob Horowitz, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Donald Trump

When asked what the United States could do in the wake of a white nationalist killing 50 people while they were worshipping at mosques in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Adern told President Trump ‘that New Zealand needed sympathy and love for all Muslim communities.” Given President Trump’s track record of demonizing Muslims, including proposing a Muslim ban and repeatedly and falsely saying that thousands of Muslims were celebrating in Jersey City right after 9/11, her expectations that the president would follow through on her request were probably low.

Mr. Trump, unfortunately, did not exceed them.  The moment called for a full-throated embrace of Muslims in New Zealand, around the world and here at home and a stern rejection of the white supremacist philosophy underlying white nationalism. The president did neither.

President Trump made a perfunctory statement of sympathy on Friday, followed up this past weekend with a series of tweets attacking his enemies even dead ones like Senator McCain. And he put forward an ill-timed defense of Jeanine Pirro, a Trump ally who was recently suspended by Fox News for outrageous comments about whether Muslim women who wear a hijab as part of their religious observance are patriotic Americans. 

When Muslims were the victims of a savage attack the president couldn’t even summon a little of the grace that his Republican predecessor demonstrated in the wake of 9/11 when nearly 3,000 people died and the attackers were of the Muslim faith.  Visiting the Islamic Center of Washington DC, President George W. Bush said, “America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country.  Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms, and dads.  And they need to be treated with respect.  In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect.  Women who cover their heads in this country must feel comfortable going outside their homes.  Moms who wear cover must be not intimidated in America.  That's not the America I know.  That's not the America I value."

Similarly, when asked on Friday whether white nationalism was a rising threat, President Trump said no despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, equivocating about whether the New Zealand attacker was a white nationalist or not when the attacker had proudly proclaimed that he was and cited the president as a symbol of white identity.   

Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League(ADL)who track the activities of extremists as well as government statistics show a major uptick in the number of hate crimes as well as murders committed by white nationalists here in the United States. “Right-wing extremists were linked to at least 50 murders last year, a 35 percent increase over 2017," according to the ADL. Most terrorists acts in the United States are now committed by white nationalists, far exceeding the number committed by Muslims affiliated with terrorist organizations. Similar trends have emerged in Europe and around the world.

ADL  CEO Jonathan Greenblatt put the New Zealand attack in context: “This attack underscores a trend that ADL has been tracking: that modern white supremacy is an international threat that knows no borders, being exported and globalized like never before. The hatred that led to violence in Pittsburgh and Charlottesville is finding new adherents around the world. Indeed, it appears that this attack was not just focused on New Zealand; it was intended to have a global impact.”

Even if one wants to give President Trump a benefit of the doubt he has not earned, analyzing his words and actions on white nationalism and Islamophobia, leave one little option but to conclude that he has done far more to embolden these toxic and dangerous attitudes than to combat them.  This past weekend was an opportunity for the president to set a new course--one more in keeping with American values and the solemn duty to be president of all the people. Once again, President Trump failed to seize that opportunity--doing little or nothing to tamp down hate and the senseless violence it continues to generate at home and abroad.

 

Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.