First off, let’s be clear: The term white nationalist is merely a poor attempt at rebranding Nazism and white supremacy. It is not different, it is not softer, it is a new, less historically-loaded label—that’s all. When the term is used in this article, it is meant to encompass all of the various shades of white supremacy that exist in this country. Though the categories (Nazis, confederates, the KKK, segregationists et al.) differ, each deserves to be placed under the same umbrella of racist hatred. There are no gradations of ugliness here—it’s all equally vile.
Violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend after tiki torch carrying white nationalists protesting the proposed removal of a Robert E. Lee statue clashed with counter-protesters. Yesterday afternoon, 20-year-old James Fields Jr. rammed his car into a large group of counter-protesters injuring 19 people and killing 32-year Heather Heyer. Fields had been photographed with the white supremacist group Vanguard America, and witnesses say the attack was clearly deliberate. Fields has been charged with murder.
This man is a terrorist.
This man is a white supremacist.
One would think this would be a lay-up statement for a U.S. president: condemn white supremacy outright, condemn Nazism, say it has no place in our country and close by saying your thoughts and prayers are with the victims.
But President Trump didn’t say this.
He said, “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides, on many sides.”
On many sides?
On many sides.
One side is filled with literal nazis, the other is against those nazis. The side who were against the Nazis were attacked by a terrorist.
And yet, this response isn’t really surprising at all. Our president will vilify brown and black people and blame them for all of the country’s ills, but when a white supremacist perpetuates a direct attack, that’s when he’s suddenly measured. It’s only about “many sides” when the side killing people is white.
Our president is a white nationalist.
Make America Great Again—we all knew what that meant. His entire campaign was about regaining ground that was lost under Obama and taking the country back. He ran a white nationalist campaign, he hired white nationalists to work in the White House, he used white nationalist rhetoric at every rally he held. His “America first” mission isn’t about all of America, it’s about old America, it’s about white America—the America that has slowly seen its unregulated and monumental power decrease and splinter somewhat over the last few decades.
Here’s what former Imperial Wizard of the KKK David Duke said about the march in Charlottesville: “We are determined to take this country back. We’re gonna fulfill the promises of Donald Trump[.]” This is the same David Duke who Trump failed to disavow during the campaign. “Alt-right” white supremacist Richard Spencer has literally hailed Trump and used Nazi salutes while doing so. Trump will unleash Twitter fury on Nordstrom, on Mika Brzezinski, on Republican and Democratic law makers, on the New York Times, but not on Richard Spencer and company.
Our president is a white nationalist.
Trump’s entire presidency is centered around deleting the legacy of a black president and re-instituting free-reign white power at the highest levels of government on down. He’s been dog-whistling white supremacists for decades upon decades. From being sued for housing discrimination in the early 70s, to his disgusting behavior during the Central Park Five case in the late 80s to the litany of statements, tweets, and interviews over the last five years.
Look at his war on immigrants. Look at the moves his justice department has made or plans to make: restarting the private prison system, reigniting the war on drugs, stopping the monitoring of civil-rights violating police departments and potentially dismantling affirmative action.
It all follows the same narrative.
Our president is a white nationalist.
He does not outright reject white supremacists because he knows all of them voted for him. And while he’s a bit less brazen, he shares many of their views. He’s doing whatever it takes to reclaim the United States for white America.
Make no mistake, he is one of them. He stands up for oppressors but never for the oppressed. He condemns people fighting against systemic oppression and for equal rights but does not condemn Nazi armband sporting, torch-carrying white power enthusiasts.
One more time, with feeling: Our president is a white nationalist.
Previously published on The Overgrown.
Follow::: @jmechanic | Like::: @JesseIanMechanic
