President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence after a day of meetings at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster , New Jersey, on Saturday. Credit Hilary Swift for The New York Times
So many of President-elect Donald Trump’s decisions herald a tomorrow that is bleak for anyone who held hope that he could be a different, better man than the one who campaigned (I was not among that cohort), or those who simply assumed that the gravity of the office he is to assume would ground him.
Hard-line Trumpism isn’t softening; it’s being cemented.
Increasingly, as he picks his cabinet from among his fawning loyalists, it is becoming clear that by “Make America Great Again,” he actually meant some version of “Make America a White, Racist, Misogynistic Patriarchy Again.” It would be hard to send a clearer message to women and minorities that this administration will be hostile to their interests than the cabinet he is assembling.
He has promoted Stephen Bannon, an alt-right, white nationalist cheerleader and sympathizer, to chief White House strategist.
Senator Bernie Sanders responded to the Bannon announcement with a blistering statement:
“The appointment by President-elect Trump of a racist individual like Mr. Bannon to a position of authority is totally unacceptable. In a democratic society we can disagree all we want over issues, but racism and bigotry cannot be part of any public policy. The appointment of Mr. Bannon by Mr. Trump must be rescinded.”
But of course, Trump had no intention of rescinding the appointment. Indeed, he had more controversial appointments to come.
He has chosen the extreme anti-Islam hyperbolist Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn — who also happens to be a stop-and-frisk apologist and has tweeted that “fear of Muslims is RATIONAL” — as his national security adviser.
As The New York Times reported Thursday:
“General Flynn, for instance, has said that Shariah, or Islamic law, is spreading in the United States. (It is not.) His dubious assertions are so common that when he ran the Defense Intelligence Agency, subordinates came up with a name for the phenomenon: They called them ‘Flynn facts.’”
In October, Flynn tweeted:
“Follow Mike @Cernovich He has a terrific book, Gorilla Mindset. Well worth the read. @realDonaldTrump will win on 8 NOV!!!”
The New Yorker dubbed Mike Cernovich “the meme mastermind of the alt-right” in a lengthy profile.
The magazine pointed out:
“On his blog, Cernovich developed a theory of white-male identity politics: men were oppressed by feminism, and political correctness prevented the discussion of obvious truths, such as the criminal proclivities of certain ethnic groups.”
Then there was the choice of Senator Jeff Sessions for attorney general. In 1986 Sessions famously became only the second nominee in 48 years to be rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, due to racist comments and behavior.
When confronted by the committee about remarks he was accused of making about the N.A.A.C.P. and the A.C.L.U., Sessions responded:
“I’m often loose with my tongue. I may have said something about the N.A.A.C.P. being un-American or Communist, but I meant no harm by it.”
But not all of Sessions’s issues regarding minorities have a 30-year vintage.
In response to the attorney general announcement, the Southern Poverty Law Center issued a statement that read in part:
“But we cannot support his nomination to be the country’s next attorney general. Senator Sessions not only has been a leading opponent of sensible, comprehensive immigration reform, he has associated with anti-immigrant groups we consider to be deeply racist, including the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Security Policy.”
Indeed, FAIR was quick to congratulate Sessions on his nomination Friday, saying in a statement: “It’s hard to imagine a better pick for the attorney general position than Senator Jeff Sessions”; the group called on Sessions to rid the country of sanctuary cities.
The S.P.L.C. has written about FAIR, saying:
“FAIR leaders have ties to white supremacist groups and eugenicists and have made many racist statements. Its advertisements have been rejected because of racist content. FAIR’s founder, John Tanton, has expressed his wish that America remain a majority-white population: a goal to be achieved, presumably, by limiting the number of nonwhites who enter the country.”
Trump is making a statement that it would behoove America to heed: The America he envisions, and is now actively constructing from his perch of power, is not an inclusive America. It is a society driven by a racial Orwellianism that seeks to defend, elevate and enshrine the primacy of white men and is hostile to all “others.”
That orange glow emanating from the man is the sun setting on America’s progress, however slow and halting, on race and gender inclusion and equity.
I invite you to join me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter (@CharlesMBlow), or email me at chblow@nytimes.com.
Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.
A version of this op-ed appears in print on November 21, 2016, on page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: Making America White Again.
Please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments.
By Charles M. Blow NOV. 21, 2016
Below are comments to the original article.
Thank you Charles, although it feels odd to be thanking a columnist for painting such a dire view of the next four years.
The election results are but two weeks old and already Donald Trump is making his mark on America: an increase in hate crimes, cabinet appointments that will ensure this white nationalist movement gets enshrined in new legislation,and personal behavior that breaks new boundaries in government ethics.
I keep reading articles about things Donald Trump can't possibly do and yet is doing. Conducting his businesses and actually promoting them in full view during the transition; tweeting incessantly about his critics, including New York Times reporters; taking credit for a factory not moving to Mexico despite the blatant falsity of any role he he has played.
And all these articles about Donald Trump's ethics, white nationalist plans, mixing of business with the office of the presidency,and promises to roll back every single piece of legislation passed under President Obama--nobody ever mentions who will be able to stop him even if he is verging on the unlawful.
The country has elected a demagogue, a strong man, a man who promises to be the president of all the people while surrounded himself with White supremacy ideologue.
I'm not sure this is what many voters had in mind when they decided to vote for change at the expense of decency.
sirdanielm Columbia, SC 1 day ago
My hope is that the election serves as a slap to the face for those of us who love American values of diversity, tolerance, and free and open markets based on meritocratic criteria. Time will tell whether Dems learn from their failure and change, or whether the GOP overreaches and gets smacked back down by the electorate. Both are possible. It took a global financial meltdown 8 years ago to awaken voters to the flim-flam con job of Repbulican governance, but our memories are so short in this age of Twitter.
Babel new Jersey 1 day ago
Trump has a welcoming home in a Party that has always been hostile to diversity in their own ranks. When the Times, a while back, published a photo of all the white males in Republican Chairmanships positions in the House, it was pretty obvious that 6o years of women and minority advancement in this country hadn't put a dent in the white male only mentality of the GOP. The only difference with Trump is that he is selecting wilder eyed white males who obviously have no qualifications for the jobs they will now hold. Much has been written lately about Democrats playing the game of diversity politics. The Republicans can never be excused of playing that game.
Ellie Boston from 1 day ago
Thank you, Charles, for voicing what many of us were feeling. Over the weekend I read countless autopsies about the election involving the Democrat's so-called identity politics. As if believing women's rights are human rights and women should receive equal pay for equal work is identity politics. I guess believing unarmed black men should not be gunned down in the street is also identity politics. Same goes for the belief that no one of any religion, including my neighbor and my son's friends, should be placed on a national registry. Remember freedom to worship?.
Funny, I thought those "identity politics" were bipartisan ideas we could all agree on. I thought "identity politics" were human rights enshrined in the constitution. I thought there was enough dignity and respect to be afforded to other people that it didn't need to be rationed. I thought lifting up the poor with higher minimum wage, access to health care, access to affordable education etc. benefitted those of all colors and religions.
Pre-election the white-nationalism looked to be a fringe movement. As it becomes increasingly represented in Trump's appointments it really does begin to look like a mainstream, deeply threatening movement. My son encountered a teacher in school last week wearing a Hillary-for-jail T-shirt. In guess post-election it's still appropriate to call for your opponent to be jailed? At school?
I'm scared, Charles. Thank you for naming my fears. Don't let anyone tell you to stop.
Arlington, TX 1 day ago
An important thought to keep in mind is that Trump is simply implementing the type of America he proposed during the campaign. And the second, and most important, thought is that he was elected (by the electoral system, not the popular vote) to carry out his agenda. I would place the blame for what we've seeing in his appointments on the people who elected him. Most of his supporters were voting for change and probably had little interest in his actual policies. So here we are!
Christine McM is a trusted commenter from Massachusetts ~ 1 day ago
The election results are but two weeks old and already Donald Trump is making his mark on America: an increase in hate crimes, cabinet appointments that will ensure this white nationalist movement gets enshrined in new legislation,and personal behavior that breaks new boundaries in government ethics.
I keep reading articles about things Donald Trump can't possibly do and yet is doing. Conducting his businesses and actually promoting them in full view during the transition; tweeting incessantly about his critics, including New York Times reporters; taking credit for a factory not moving to Mexico despite the blatant falsity of any role he he has played.
And all these articles about Donald Trump's ethics, white nationalist plans, mixing of business with the office of the presidency,and promises to roll back every single piece of legislation passed under President Obama--nobody ever mentions who will be able to stop him even if he is verging on the unlawful.
The country has elected a demagogue, a strong man, a man who promises to be the president of all the people while surrounded himself with White supremacy ideologue.
I'm not sure this is what many voters had in mind when they decided to vote for change at the expense of decency.
sirdanielm Columbia, SC 1 day ago
My hope is that the election serves as a slap to the face for those of us who love American values of diversity, tolerance, and free and open markets based on meritocratic criteria. Time will tell whether Dems learn from their failure and change, or whether the GOP overreaches and gets smacked back down by the electorate. Both are possible. It took a global financial meltdown 8 years ago to awaken voters to the flim-flam con job of Repbulican governance, but our memories are so short in this age of Twitter.
Babel new Jersey 1 day ago
Trump has a welcoming home in a Party that has always been hostile to diversity in their own ranks. When the Times, a while back, published a photo of all the white males in Republican Chairmanships positions in the House, it was pretty obvious that 6o years of women and minority advancement in this country hadn't put a dent in the white male only mentality of the GOP. The only difference with Trump is that he is selecting wilder eyed white males who obviously have no qualifications for the jobs they will now hold. Much has been written lately about Democrats playing the game of diversity politics. The Republicans can never be excused of playing that game.
Ellie Boston from 1 day ago
Thank you, Charles, for voicing what many of us were feeling. Over the weekend I read countless autopsies about the election involving the Democrat's so-called identity politics. As if believing women's rights are human rights and women should receive equal pay for equal work is identity politics. I guess believing unarmed black men should not be gunned down in the street is also identity politics. Same goes for the belief that no one of any religion, including my neighbor and my son's friends, should be placed on a national registry. Remember freedom to worship?.
Funny, I thought those "identity politics" were bipartisan ideas we could all agree on. I thought "identity politics" were human rights enshrined in the constitution. I thought there was enough dignity and respect to be afforded to other people that it didn't need to be rationed. I thought lifting up the poor with higher minimum wage, access to health care, access to affordable education etc. benefitted those of all colors and religions.
Pre-election the white-nationalism looked to be a fringe movement. As it becomes increasingly represented in Trump's appointments it really does begin to look like a mainstream, deeply threatening movement. My son encountered a teacher in school last week wearing a Hillary-for-jail T-shirt. In guess post-election it's still appropriate to call for your opponent to be jailed? At school?
I'm scared, Charles. Thank you for naming my fears. Don't let anyone tell you to stop.
Arlington, TX 1 day ago
An important thought to keep in mind is that Trump is simply implementing the type of America he proposed during the campaign. And the second, and most important, thought is that he was elected (by the electoral system, not the popular vote) to carry out his agenda. I would place the blame for what we've seeing in his appointments on the people who elected him. Most of his supporters were voting for change and probably had little interest in his actual policies. So here we are!
Margaret Dolan, MD Richmond 1 day ago
ReplyDeleteIt has been said that the struggle for democracy in America did not end in 1776. Rather each generation is called on to defend our liberties anew. It was true with The Greatest Generation when the threat was foreign. It was true during the Civil Rights movement in the 60's and it's true now in the post-Trump-election Civil Rights movement. America is rapidly becoming a more gender-diverse, multicultural, multiracial society which is a huge threat to the increasingly minority white-males-only believers. Mr. Blow's column shows us that it is possible to see Trump's appointments not as dooming to freedoms, but rather empowering because these appointments clearly identify where the current dangers to those freedoms are and where the education and resistance of this generation's struggles should focus. So, ok, we are entering a new Dark Period in which we will have to struggle anew. It's going to be a marathon, so suit up.
TM Accra, Ghana 1 day ago
ReplyDeleteIt's clear that the vast majority of Americans who voted for DT did so in spite of his hateful rhetoric, not because of it. Nevertheless, they are the ones responsible for everything that DT does in the next 4 years, and most important, the effects of his actions. If America becomes the North Carolina of the world and loses billions of trade and tourism dollars as a result, that is on the backs of those Americans who voted for DT. If women, minorities & LGBQT citizens lose the rights that we've all fought so hard to win over the past few decades, that, too is on them.
I know a lot of DT supporters. They're friends & family members, and they're good people. They're not overtly racist or misogynist; they just think that America needs to change direction. I share many of their concerns about our great nation, and I'm hoping that DT will fulfill some of those campaign promises that his supporters believed.
I also hope that those of us who have this foreboding sense that we're headed in the wrong direction are wrong and that the effects of DT's overt racism, misogyny and xenophobia won't ripple across the nation and turn us into something unrecognizable. But logic and overwhelming evidence suggest otherwise. The best we can do at this point is raise the alarm as often and as clearly as possible. The rest is out of our hands.
Joan New York 1 day ago
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone think that the rights of women and minorities would endure beyond those fighting for them? We became complacent and trusting, even as we see, for starters, voting rights and reproductive rights mercilessly attacked.
This is not to be critical of anyone, myself included. The fight is exhausting and the desire to have a place at the table is strong. The pendulum is swinging in the wrong direction to the imagined benefit of aggrieved white men, whose place at the table has been secure throughout the West for centuries. Europe appears to be on the verge of reliving the 1930s.
Young people, who grew up taking our rights for granted, have little idea how hard-won they are, how fragile, how bitterly resented by a white America that had to hold its tongue until now.
Those days are over. We have a president-elect who has contempt for anyone who is not white, rich, and a perfect ten. The rest of us, notably those who voted for him, are about to be unceremoniously booted from the American Dream.
We have serious battles to fight, but they are not with one another. There are serious enemies beyond our borders. And the are not Mexicans.
And, if we don't get serious, the next World War, will truly be a global one that is unlikely produce a winner. Krushev said that after the next war the living would envy the dead. He was talking about a different kind of war, but it feels like he wasn't far wrong.