Donald Trump is racist, xenophobic, and violent. We must demand that he remove himself from the public sphere. After the November 13 attacks in Paris, many elected officials in the United States have come out firmly opposed to Islam and the admittance of Syrian Refugees. Undoubtedly, these individuals are playing right into Daesh hands. Among those individuals is Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump has called for a gestapo-style identification system and database for all American Muslims. He has stated that he is in favor of closing down US mosques. As has been widely noted, this strategy directly feeds the Daesh propaganda machine, supporting the narrative that the US is at war with Islam.
A couple of days ago, a man at a Trump rally started chanting “Black Lives Matter” and sported a shirt with the same phrase, at which point Trump fans started beating the man until he was escorted out of the building. Trump said that, because the man was disruptive and loud, that “maybe he should have been roughed up.”
We cannot stand for a presidential candidate who endorses racist violence, or who seeks to incite hatred and violence against American Muslims.