Tuesday, August 15, 2017

David Duke and Trump: "The White Americans"

 

Sometimes the truth comes from offensive sources. And, this time the most despicable spokesman imaginable put us face to face with a very dark understanding about the leader of the free world.


President Trump's initial unwillingness to condemn the hate groups behind the deadly protests in Charlottesville raises many questions about his beliefs and affiliations. After blaming the violence "on many sides" Saturday, Trump stayed silent for close to 48 hours before finally condemning the actions of the KKK, the neo-Nazis, and other white supremacist groups.


When Trump did directly call out and condemn white supremacy, former KKK leader David Duke reacted. “It’s amazing to see how the media is able to bully the President of the United States into going along with their FAKE NEWS narrative,” Duke tweeted.

In another tweet, Duke openly warned the president against calling out white nationalists.“I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists,” he wrote.


Trump has a long history of being quick to condemn anyone he doesn’t like. He is often blunt and very harsh. But, he did not initially denounce the hate groups. It appears he was, as Duke contends, “bullied” into submission. By whom? The media certainly applied immense pressure on him, but so did the public as well as politicians from both political parties.


This time the pressure to take action was well warranted. One must wonder why Trump chose to use such an irresolute, passive statement about the riots in the first place. Since he is held in high regard by the kind of people who attended the rally in Charlottesville, his resistance to speak out against white nationalism looks very convenient. His call for blame “on many sides” confirms his true feelings: he was also condemning the counter-protesters.


Even if Trump did not name the counter-protesters, it is apparent he made his broad reference intentionally vague on purpose. It is as if he was saying, “Here is the 'cup of blame.' Fill it up with any and all demonstration participants you choose.”


There is also evidence that before he spoke Saturday, Trump's own team of advisers warned him to sharply criticize the white nationalist protesters …


“At the center of the discussion was Mr. Bossert (Thomas P. Bossert – White House Homeland Security Adviser), who laid out the situation on the ground, including a description of provocations by both protesters and counter protesters, according to a White House official.


“Two hard-edge economic populists – Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s chief strategist, and Stephen Miller, a senior adviser – spoke with Mr. Trump repeatedly on Saturday, the person said, although it was not clear if Mr. Bannon had offered him advice on his comments.


“Mr. Trump listened attentively, according to another person familiar with the discussions, but repeatedly steered the conversation to the breakdown of 'law and order,' and the responsibility of local officials to stem the violence.” 

(Glenn Thrush and Rebeccar Ruizaug. “White House Acts to Stem Fallout From Trump’s First Charlottesville Remarks.” The New York Times. August 13, 2017.)

Bannon and Miller and Bossert and Trump – what an excuse for a team of advisors …
  • Bannon, once the executive chair of Breitbart News, the platform for the alt-right and the loose network of individuals and groups that promote white identity and reject mainstream conservatism in favor of politics that embrace implicit or explicit racism, anti-Semitism and white supremacy.
  • Miller, the man who had the heated exchange with Jim Acosta regarding support for the RAISE Act to sharply limit legal immigration and favor immigrants with high English proficiency.
  • Bossert, spear-phished by a British hacker into thinking he was Jared Kushner by sending an email to Bossert.

In the end, any and all measured response by Trump to the actions of the hate groups was calculated to raise the love of Trump as it is seen in the eyes of Trump, himself. He lives for the praise of his adoring crowd and wants to maintain the “biggest” exaltation possible. He needs all of this to feed his monstrous ego.


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