Trump's racist views have not gone unnoticed. America really is better than Trump
By Jennifer Rubin
July 5 at 9:00 AM
President Trump, more than any modern president, freely expresses his racist views — whether it is calling Mexican immigrants rapists, asserting that immigrants “infest” America, saying neo-Nazis include some “very fine people,” preferring Norwegian immigrants to those from “shithole” countries or associating immigrants with crime in public and in private. (In May The Post reported on an episode in April 2017: “Trump reminded them the crowds loved his rhetoric on immigrants along the campaign trail. Acting as if he were at a rally, he recited a few made-up Hispanic names and described potential crimes they could have committed, such as rape or murder. Then, he said, the crowds would roar when the criminals were thrown out of the country — as they did when he highlighted crimes by illegal immigrants at his rallies. . . .”) Add in his ongoing feud with African American football players who kneel for the national anthem to protest police brutality (“Get that son of a bitch off the field right now“) and his attack on African American Rep. Maxine Waters’s (D-Calif.) intelligence, and you see a president who is either catering to racists or himself harbors racist views.
Voters have noticed. The Quinnipiac poll released this week shows a plurality (49 percent) think he is a racist while 47 percent do not. Among the 47 percent are 86 percent of Republicans, roughly the same percentage that support him. (They simply will not believe the president they voted for is a racist.) More young voters (18-34 years) think he is a racist (56 percent) than do older voters. Perhaps there is something to the polling on millennials that says they are more tolerant and inclusive than older Americans (and themselves are more diverse). Nevertheless, by a small margin (50 percent to 44 percent) voters are willing to believe Trump’s sincere beliefs about controlling the border, not racism, are the main motivator for his immigration policies.
Even more interesting, a large majority (55 percent to 39 percent) think Trump has emboldened other people to voice racist views. Even 22 percent of Republicans acknowledge that. Women, those with college degrees, younger voters and African Americans say Trump has emboldened racists to speak out in greater numbers than voters without college degrees, older voters and whites. In short, even if Americans do not admit Trump is a racist, they are willing to concede he’s popularized racist language. When it comes to handling race relations or uniting the country, a substantial majority (58 percent disapprove, 36 percent approve for both) disapprove of his performance.
Voters are also far less cavalier about the fate of Hispanic children than Trump is. “Separating children from their parents was a violation of human rights, American voters say 60-36 percent,” the pollsters report. “The Trump Administration has a responsibility to unite these children with their parents, voters say 83 – 12 percent. Undocumented immigrants are not more likely than American citizens to commit crimes, American voters say 69 – 25 percent.”
There are a few takeaways from this data.
First, in case you thought Trump was “getting away” with his racism, he’s not. In the most blunt phrasing possible virtually half of Americans call him a “racist,” close to the worst thing you can call someone in public life. Even more apparent to voters is his influence on encouraging racism among others and dividing the country. If Democrats want to get traction among voters not already in their corner they’d be much smarter to attack Trump for what he is doing to the country (e.g. dividing, emboldening racists) than calling Trump and his supporters racists.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2018/07/05/trumps-racist-views-have-not-gone-unnoticed/?utm_term=.a56b4d46f65c
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