At least 25 times the president spoke against hate, and three things he shouldn’t have said
Not even the “Paper of Record” could resist the Left’s Big Lie: Donald J. Trump is America’s “racist-in-chief.”
After last weekend’s deadly mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Democrats and other Trump haters demanded that the president denounce white nationalism, which apparently propelled the alleged Texas gunman. President Trump did exactly that.
“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate,” Trump said Monday. “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul.”
The Old Gray Lady’s page-one, online headline reflected these remarks: “TRUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM”
But those accurate words enraged Democrats. They disproved the leftist lie that Trump is a divisive bigot.
“I canceled my subscription,” CNN contributor Joan Walsh thundered. “I can’t keep rewarding such awful news judgment.”
Senator Cory Booker (D., N.J.) bellowed: “Lives literally depend on you doing better, NYT. Please do.”
America’s top Democrat, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, was corrosive: “Let this front page serve as a reminder of how white supremacy is aided by — and often relies upon the cowardice of mainstream institutions.”
With their tails jammed between their legs, this rag’s editors substituted a headline to soothe their Democrat masters:
“ASSAILING HATE BUT NOT GUNS”
The myth that President Trump is a kloset Klansman is the Left’s relentless refrain. The first headline T-boned into this lie. And the lie won.
This nonstop lie almost totally has eclipsed the fact that Trump has fought hate, racism, and anti-Semitism since before his candidacy:
1) “In spring 2004,” Trump told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, “I was the grand marshal of the 40th Salute to Israel Parade, the single largest gathering in support of the Jewish state.” — March 21, 2016
2) “What the hell do you have to lose?” Trump entreated black voters at numerous whistle stops. He also sought black support at a Cleveland charter school, plus churches in Detroit and Flint, Mich. — Fall 2016
3) “Whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the windswept plains of Nebraska,” Trump said in his inaugural address, “they look up at the same night sky, they fill their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty Creator.” — January 20, 2017
4) “I don’t think we’ve ever had this many people in the Oval Office,” Trump marveled as he welcomed several dozen presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and opened a White House office to assist them. –February 17, 2017
5) “Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our Nation’s path toward civil rights and the work that still remains,” Trump said in his maiden speech to Congress. “Recent threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a Nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.”
He also called for “an education bill that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African-American and Latino children.” — February 28, 2017
5) “I chose to make my first foreign visit a trip to the heart of the Muslim world,” Trump said in Saudi Arabia. “To the leaders and citizens of every country assembled here today, I want you to know that the United States is eager to form closer bonds of friendship, security, culture, and commerce.” –May 21, 2017
6) “I can see a much deeper path — friendship with Israel,” Trump said in Jerusalem. That morning, while wearing a yarmulke, he became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest spot. — May 22, 2017
7) “We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for, there is no place for this kind of violence in America. Let’s come together as one!” Trump wrote via Twitter, as deadly race riots rocked Charlottesville, Va. “We must remember this truth: No matter our color, creed, religion, or political party, we are ALL AMERICANS FIRST.” — Aug. 12, 2017 — 10:19 a.m.
8) “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence, on many sides,” Trump told journalists, after neo-Nazi motorist James Alex Fields Jr. plowed into a crowd of anti-KKK protesters, killing Heather Heyer. “We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation and true affection — really — and I say this so strongly — true affection for each other.” — August 12, 2017 — 3:33 p.m.
9) “Racism is evil,” Trump said. “And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” — August 14, 2017
10) There were “very fine people, on both sides,” in Charlottesville, “protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee,” Trump said. He specified: “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists — because they should be condemned totally.” He also called them “rough, bad people.” — August 15, 2017
11) “The men and women of our military operate as one team,” Trump said at Fort Myer in Virginia. “They transcend every line of race, ethnicity, creed, and color to serve together — and sacrifice together — in absolutely perfect cohesion. That is because all service members are brothers and sisters. They’re all part of the same family; it’s called the American family.” — August 21, 2017
12) “Our movement is a movement built on love. It’s love for fellow citizens. It’s love for struggling Americans who’ve been left behind, and love for every American child who deserves a chance to have all of their dreams come true,” Trump told supporters in Phoenix. “From the inner cities to the rural outposts, from the Sun Belt to the Rust Belt, from east to west and north to south, our movement is built on the conviction that every American from every background is entitled to a government that puts their needs first.” — August 22, 2017
13) “It is time to heal the wounds that divide us and to seek a new unity based on the common values that unite us. We are one people with one home and one great flag,” Trump told the American Legion’s national convention. “We are not defined by the color of our skin, the figure on our paycheck, or the party of our politics. We are defined by our shared humanity, by our citizenship in this magnificent nation, and by the love that fills our hearts.” — August 23, 2017
14) “Today, I am asking every citizen to join me in dreaming big and bold and daring things — beautiful things — for our country,” Trump said, while promoting tax cuts. “I am asking everyone in this room and across the nation to join me in demanding nothing but the best for our nation and for our people. And if we do these things, and if we care for and support each other, and love each other, then we will truly make America great again.” — August 30, 2017
15) “Today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Trump said. “I am also directing the State Department to begin preparation to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.” –December 6, 2017
16) “With the rising of tonight’s moon, I send my greetings and best wishes to all Muslims observing Ramadan in the United States and around the world,” Trump’s holiday greeting stated. “Ramadan reminds us of the richness Muslims add to the religious tapestry of American life.” — May 15, 2018
17) At a White House iftar dinner for Muslim U.S. officials and Islamic diplomats, Trump welcomed his guests in Arabic: “To each of you and to the Muslims around the world: Ramadan Mubarak.” — June 6, 2018
18) “Anti-Semitism and the widespread persecution of Jews represent one of the ugliest and darkest features of human history,” Trump said, soon after a deadly shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue. “There must be no tolerance for anti-Semitism in America or for any form of religious or racial hatred or prejudice.” — October 27, 2018
19) “All Americans, whether first generation or tenth generation, are bound together in love and loyalty, friendship and affection,” Trump said in the Oval Office, after swearing in new citizens from Austria, Germany, Great Britain, and Norway as well as Bolivia, Iraq, Jamaica, and South Korea. “We are all equal. We are one team, and one people, proudly saluting one great American flag. We believe in a safe and lawful system of immigration, one that upholds our laws, our traditions, and our most cherished values.” — January 19, 2019
20) “We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism, or those who spread its venomous creed,” Trump declared in his State of the Union address. “With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs.” Trump introduced his special guests: Dachau survivor Joshua Kaufman and World War II veteran Herman Zeitchik, who liberated that Nazi concentration camp. — February 5, 2019
21) “I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems,” Trump said about white supremacism. “It’s certainly a terrible thing.” –March 15, 2019
22) “In a moment, I will sign a presidential proclamation recognizing Israel’s sovereign right over the Golan Heights,” Trump said. “We will confront the poison of anti-Semitism through both our words and, maybe even more importantly, our actions. . . . Israel is an inspiration, a trusted ally, and a cherished friend. The United States will always stand by its side.” — March 25, 2019
23) “Our entire nation mourns the loss of life, prays for the wounded, and stands in solidarity with the Jewish community,” Trump said, after a fatal shooting at southern Calif.’s Chabad of Poway synagogue. “We forcefully condemn the evil of anti-Semitism and hate, which must be defeated.” — April 27, 2019
24) “We will fight with all of our strength and everything that we have in our bodies to defeat anti-Semitism, to end the attacks on the Jewish people, and to conquer all forms of persecution, intolerance, and hate,” Trump said as he welcomed to the Rose Garden the Chabad of Poway’s Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein. — May 2, 2019
25) “Devotion to our founding ideals led American patriots to abolish the evil of slavery, secure civil rights, and expand the blessings of liberty to all Americans,” Trump said at the Lincoln Memorial. “In 1963, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. stood here on these very steps and called on our nation to live out the ‘true meaning of its creed,’ and ‘let freedom ring’ for every citizen all across our land.” Trump added: “America’s fearless resolve has inspired heroes who defined our national character” including “the great Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman,” and “Jackie Robinson.” — July 4, 2019
Conversely, President Trump never should have said several things:
- As Trump correctly remarked at his June 16, 2015, campaign launch — there are Mexican illegal aliens who are “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” But the rest of that notorious quote — “And some, I assume, are good people” — insufficiently narrowed Trump’s brush.
- U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel was born in Indiana and, thus, is neither a Mexican jurist nor unqualified to adjudicate a case involving Trump, as the president asserted.
- The four-member, far-left Democrat “Squad” are all U.S. citizens. Three of these House members are native-born. So, Trump should not have told them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”
On July 27, Trump answered criticism from Representative Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) by calling his district, which includes west Baltimore, “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” Soon after the Left slammed this comment as racist, video surfaced of former Democrat mayor Catherine Pugh walking through her city and saying, “Whoa, you can smell the rats.” Cummings himself said: “I have known the little girls who I have watched grow up from babies and now selling their bodies for $5 at 14 years old.” Somehow it’s not racist when Democrats describe Baltimore. It’s racist only when Trump describes Baltimore.
And yet, as the aforementioned 25 examples confirm, President Trump repeatedly has denounced hatred, racism, and anti-Semitism. He has applauded blacks, Jews, and Muslims. While Trump opposes illegal immigrants, he has praised legal immigrants — including Latin Americans.
White supremacists do not do this.
Trump’s magnanimous words here would shock most Americans. Too many journalists who should report them instead conceal them. Likewise, the ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news broadcasts totally ignored Rabbi Goldstein’s glowing words about Trump. (“Mr. President, when you called me, I was at home weeping. You were the first person who began my healing. You heal people in their worst of times, and I’m so grateful for that.”) Never mind that Goldstein wore blue bandages where his fingers had been, before a deadly gunman shot them off.
By muffling the president’s repeated pleas to undermine racists and unite the country, the Trump-hating media give aid and comfort to bullies and bigots. When journalists almost unanimously bury Trump’s efforts to isolate haters and consolidate America, fear and loathing thrive. Presidential words that would shame haters and inspire lovers instead stay under wraps, so that some 90 percent of the press can despise Trump in peace. In this sense, the left-wing media are the unindicted conspirators of America’s anti-Semites, white nationalists, and other odious racists.
Michael Malarkey contributed research to this opinion piece.