To The Reader’s Forum:

My hypothesis is Donald Trump is probably a racist. Here’s my arguments.

First, and foremost, I have yet to hear Trump tell a White, native born or naturalized American to go back to where they came from. There are numerous Whites, me included, who strongly oppose him personally (and his views and policies). Note that three of the four female Congresspersons “of color” included in Trump’s recent controversial tweet are native born. Thus, the only reason to use that language is because of the color of their skin and the false association that non-Whites are an inferior race.

Second, Trump’s tweets tell us what he really believes. If he wanted to give a detailed explanation of what he “truly” believes he would write an essay, not a tweet. Thus, Trump generalizes in his tweets about race (e.g. Hispanics, Blacks, Whites), which is a clear sign that race matters and he generally couches race negatively for non-Whites (e.g. Hispanics are “murderers and rapists”) while using opposite adjectives for Whites (e.g. calling White Nationalists “really fine people”). A person doesn’t have to be explicit to hold racist views; meaning can be found in known “dog whistles” and other generalizations.

Third, Trump has a long history of degrading people based on race (among other factors, although this is specifically about race). People show what they truly believe by repetition.

Fourth, it does not matter that Trump selectively has non-White person associations. Nothing in business or politics cancels out deeply held beliefs that rear their ugly head as a knee-jerk response to something. Remember,Trump is always the initiator of derogatory dialog and falsely claims himself as a victim, which he then uses to justify his conduct and then expands his diatribe (e.g. claiming the Congresswomen “hate America”).

Fifth, Trump never has to make personally derogatory comments; he takes the lowest road to insure there is sufficient angry back and forth that fills a news cycle with meaningless drivel.

Lastly, anyone who uses race-filled diatribe who then claims “I don’t have a racist bone in my body” so surely is the opposite. That’s how people are; any sociologist and/or psychotherapist will tell you that. It doesn’t take a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.

Paul L. Demler

Jamestown