At the first Presidential debate of the 2020 election, Donald Trump again refused to denounce white supremacy. Instead, he took the opportunity to denounce “the radical left” (again) and give a shout-out to the Proud Boys, an organization of fascist thugs, who have become Trump’s de facto brownshirts. You’d think that would be the end of him, but it won’t be. At least 38% of voters are happy to have an open white supremacist in the White House.
Trump’s entire debate strategy was based around fascist principles — basically, attempting to bully Biden to make himself look strong without any interest in substantive issues.
“When asked what he will do about racial injustice in America, Trump reverted to boasting about the extremist and law enforcement groups that support his campaign. Moreover, when presented with the simple task of condemning white supremacy and white militia groups, he couldn’t – a stark insult to the millions of Black Americans and people of color facing police brutality, the overwhelming brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, and systemic racism in our schools, prisons, and workplaces every day in this country, and their allies who believe in justice and want to move the nation forward. In fact, he issued a rallying cry to one violent white nationalist group, telling them to “stand back and stand by,” Byrd said Tuesday night in an email. “His callousness toward millions of Americans and complete disregard for the systemic injustices our communities face is more than enough proof for why we must come together to vote him out of office. Another four years of Trump means another four years of shameless white nationalism and fascism. Our democracy cannot survive that.”
Jessica Byrd, of the Frontline, an election initiative from the Movement for Black Lives’ Electoral Justice Project and the Working Families Party
Trump himself is not what we need to focus on, however. We already knew Trump was a white supremacist before he was elected; in fact, he was clearly a white supremacist years ago, when he considered himself a Democrat. Instead, we need to consider those Americans who think fascism is a good idea and address the conditions that led them to that horrible opinion.
‘Stand By’: Trump Refuses To Denounce White Supremacy As Debate vs. Biden Spirals Out Of Control
From refusing to denounce white supremacy to shouting out the Proud Boys, the president dug deep into his shameless bag of racist tricks during the first debate against Joe Biden.
by Bruce C. T. Wright