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Did you get your protest check from George Soros?
WaPo
Let me be clear. This was not a dog whistle. This was a car alarm going off at 4 a.m. underneath your bedroom window.
It’s not just that Trump is denying the legitimacy of people opposed to a decision he made. He’s also using anti-Semitic tropes to single out the group as different and as an other — not American, not committed to good, old-fashioned American values. This is the language of authoritarians, or would-be authoritarians.
The motivation is obvious. Kavanaugh’s appointment was forced through by a minority. Polls found more people opposed to Kavanaugh than in support. The 5o senators who voted to confirm his nomination represent 44 percent of the population. Trump himself is a minority president. He received less of popular vote than Hillary Clinton and found himself moving into the White House only because of the undemocratic electoral college. His signature achievement — a tax overhaul that showers goodies on the tippy-top of the 1 percent — remains widely unpopular.
So what to do? Turn to a tried-and-true dynamic, the place where gaslighting meets racism. Trump’s a champ at this game, and statements that reek of anti-Semitism are hardly the only ones he uses. While running for president, he attacked Mexican immigrants and claimed Muslims in New Jersey cheered when the World Trade Center collapsed, a claim literally no one has ever been able to corroborate. Shortly before the election, he ran a commercial featuring Soros, then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen and then-Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein, along with Hillary Clinton, replete with references to “global special interests” and a “global power structure.” (I doubt you need me to tell you that intimations of a global conspiracy, especially one that has much to do with banking and money, are a longtime anti-Semitic trope.)
It’s not just that Trump is denying the legitimacy of people opposed to a decision he made. He’s also using anti-Semitic tropes to single out the group as different and as an other — not American, not committed to good, old-fashioned American values. This is the language of authoritarians, or would-be authoritarians.
The motivation is obvious. Kavanaugh’s appointment was forced through by a minority. Polls found more people opposed to Kavanaugh than in support. The 5o senators who voted to confirm his nomination represent 44 percent of the population. Trump himself is a minority president. He received less of popular vote than Hillary Clinton and found himself moving into the White House only because of the undemocratic electoral college. His signature achievement — a tax overhaul that showers goodies on the tippy-top of the 1 percent — remains widely unpopular.
So what to do? Turn to a tried-and-true dynamic, the place where gaslighting meets racism. Trump’s a champ at this game, and statements that reek of anti-Semitism are hardly the only ones he uses. While running for president, he attacked Mexican immigrants and claimed Muslims in New Jersey cheered when the World Trade Center collapsed, a claim literally no one has ever been able to corroborate. Shortly before the election, he ran a commercial featuring Soros, then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen and then-Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein, along with Hillary Clinton, replete with references to “global special interests” and a “global power structure.” (I doubt you need me to tell you that intimations of a global conspiracy, especially one that has much to do with banking and money, are a longtime anti-Semitic trope.)
| 8 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited | |
| Just came today! | |
1 (13%) |
|
| I told George to donate the whole thing to Andrew Gillum | |
1 (13%) |
|
| George was offering money? | |
1 (13%) |
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| I didn't get money from George, but I've heard Russian trolling pays well | |
5 (63%) |
|
| 0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided. | |
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Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll |
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7 replies
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