At a Wednesday night rally, Donald Trump made it clear that the theme of his 2020 campaign is overt racism. The focus on openly attacking people of color and setting loyalty tests that Trump himself would have failed a thousand times over was answered by loud and angry chants from his supporters, who added, “Send her back!” to the repertoire of hate-filled cries.
Trump has never made much effort to disguise the fact that the “great” in his campaign slogan actually meant “white,” but what has clearly changed this time around is that Trump no longer feels any need to hide that fact. Instead, he has put personal attacks on four women of color at the center of his campaign, equating whiteness with citizenship. Trump had only to mention Rep. Ilhan Omar for his followers to erupt in boos and screams of hate, and as he continued—lying about the congresswoman’s statements and distorting her record—the instantaneous call for exile that rose among his supporters was terrifying in its intensity and in the glee with which the rallygoers felt free to express racial hate. But it wasn’t surprising. Trump’s followers have been ready for him at every step.
The night showed that Trump 2020 is all of a piece. He has wrapped himself in the same themes that started with claiming that Mexicans were rapists and drug runners, and that Muslims were terrorists, and that refugees— like Rep. Omar—are a threat. And he and his ever ready followers have found a new chant that maximizes the racism while holding onto the misogyny of “Lock her up.” For Trump, the Squad is a perfect target: progressive women of color that he can hold up to his white audience as a threat to their privileged position.
That’s not the only way things are different than in 2016. Trump really has had some significant accomplishments since taking office. The concentration camps are in place. The declaration that the legislature has no power has been made. The appropriation of the justice system is complete.
Now it’s time for the naming of enemies. Who happen to be black, or brown, and women. Intelligent women with powerful voices who speak for millions. Women who really are a threat to what Trump is trying to do. And what he’s trying to do is obvious.