Presidential election years are often polarizing, and this year proves no different as issues of policy and politics become increasingly personal. I have seen a variety of posts on social media recently that take one of two distinct stances; they either preach acceptance of everyone regardless of political belief or vehemently reject those who support Trump. I grew up with an extended family of varied political beliefs, ranging from the far left to the far right. Accepting that others view the world very differently than I do and frame their beliefs accordingly was never a tough pill to swallow, and I have enjoyed hearing about how individuals develop their perspectives. However, as the nation becomes more polarized and the basic human rights of countless individuals are threatened daily, the ability to see past someone else’s political beliefs has become all the more challenging.
No one over the age of five years old can reasonably claim that they do not know what discriminatory and inflammatory rhetoric Trump espouses and his base supports. His very language has been tied to increases in bullying among children as they mimic his cruel speech. Trump has a different slur for every group under the sun, infamously referring to Latin American immigrants as “bad hombres,” designating Muslims as terrorists and refusing to acknowledge the pain of Black Americans due to racism and countless deaths at the hands of police. In contrast, the president has vocally and consistently supported white supremacist organizations, claiming that there were “very fine people on both sides” at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally in 2017 that ignited protest from community members and resulted in the death of a woman protesting the presence of neo-Nazis. He most recently called for the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist, all-male, white supremacist group, to “stand back and stand by” when asked to denounce white supremacy on the debate stage, which he also refused to do. Supporting Trump actively endorses this racist and xenophobic language as acceptable.
The individuals who claim to support Trump for “Christian” or “pro-life” reasons also lack rational justification, as Trump’s policies have done nothing to demonstrate concern for the protection of life. He has demonstrated no aversion to abortion through his life-long actions, including taking a drug for COVID-19 created using aborted fetal cells. He created policy that keeps migrant children in cages, separates immigrant families, accepts donations from for-profit prisons that maintain record rates of incarceration and wants to deny healthcare to millions of Americans (including those with pre-existing conditions, like diabetes, pregnancy, cancer, or potentially even COVID-19) through repealing the Affordable Care Act. The Trump administration has condemned movements to protect black lives, such as Black Lives Matter, and vocalized support for the police; he even replaced the American flag with the Blue Lives Matter flag at a recent rally. Trump also claimed that Syrian refugees posed “national security threats” without evidence and accepted the fewest number of refugees in American history at 18,000 annually. His administration has deliberately and systematically deprived countless people of their most basic rights from the freedom to live without fear of violence to access to healthcare.
There also exists a general sentiment, particularly among white voters, that another Trump presidency wouldn’t be the end of the world — “we survived four years, we can survive another four.” But that statement is laden with privilege. Hundreds of thousands of Americans died due to Trump’s continued mishandling and denial of the COVID-19 pandemic. Black, Latinx and Native American people are dying at astonishingly high numbers at the hands of police. Immigrants are dying in ICE custody. Hundreds of thousands of Americans did not survive one term with Trump, and we cannot afford to lose countless more to hatred, ignorance, incompetence and bigotry.
Donald Trump does not simply represent the Republican Party, but rather an entire slew of racist and xenophobic sentiments that undermine the basic rights of the majority of the American people as well as those beyond the nation’s borders. Disagreeing over politics is one thing, but refusing to acknowledge someone’s most essential rights is another issue altogether. The Trump administration represents a radical departure from the history of the Republican Party. Politics formerly meant disagreeing over how best to solve a problem but not disagreeing that violations of human rights are real issues that require solutions. Supporting Trump denotes acceptance of racism and xenophobia as defensible behavior, particularly as it informs policy. The president of the United States possesses real national and global power, so supporting Trump is not as simple as accepting that your uncle will always make inflammatory comments at the family’s Thanksgiving dinner. All of this begs the question — can you really be friends with those who unwaveringly support and vote for Donald Trump, especially when that means that they likely don’t believe in protecting your rights and the rights of those you love?