No, Trump Isn't Just Pandering to His Base

 

By Nida Khan 

It’s the same tired playbook. Donald Trump makes some sort of outlandish statement (facts be damned), the press covers it endlessly and then everyone says ‘oh this is all just politics and rhetoric to galvanize his supporters’. The latest installment: Trump’s attacks on the migrant caravan, supposed changes to the asylum-seeking process, the reported deployment of 15,000 troops to the border and promises to undo birthright citizenship. While the political punditry class generally dismisses this as all about the midterms and mere politics, the reality is much more sinister with dire consequences for those who have the least voice in the entire dynamic: refugees, migrants, immigrants and people of color at large. For them, this is anything but mere political talking points; it’s literally a matter of survival.

On Thursday, Trump delivered remarks from the White House on immigration and asylum prior to heading to yet another rally. In addition to his continued demonization of migrants and the caravan, Trump said his Administration is finalizing a plan where those seeking asylum would be held in tent cities for as long as it takes to process their claim, even for years if necessary. He indicated that this plan would only allow asylum seekers to apply at designated points of entry at the border — and oh — stated that he authorized the military to treat anyone who throws rocks at soldiers/officers as if they were using a firearm. In other words, the President of the United States just said it’s ok to shoot any migrant or asylum-seeker throwing a rock. “If they want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back,” he said. “We’re going to consider, and I told them, consider it a rifle.”

This is where we are, this is what has now been normalized and yes, this was all forewarned.

Click here for the full article. 

Source: Medium