The Republican Party’s front-runner for their presidential nomination, Donald Trump, continues to peel off nonsense of the most extreme variety. Just when you think he’s topped out at proposing to reprise the repugnant “Operation Wetback,” he reaches down deep to deliver something that far surpasses the idiocy of any ordinary mortal.
Yesterday Trump was on Laura Ingraham’s radio show and had something to say about the Syrian refugee crisis that most of the civilized world is struggling to address. But his remarks were not about the human suffering or the logistical challenges or potential solutions. What Trump sought to add to the debate was a ludicrous and wholly unfounded conspiracy theory accusing President Obama of another dastardly deed.
Trump: They send [the refugees] to the Republicans, not to the Democrats, you know, because they know the problems. In California you have a Democrat as a governor. In Florida you have Rick Scott. So, you know, they send them to the Republicans because, you know, why would we want to bother the Democrats? It’s just insane. Taking these people is absolutely insanity. I don’t know if you know. They’re talking about hundreds of thousands potentially. Hundreds of thousands.
Where to begin. How about with the fact that Trump’s assertion is a bald-faced lie. His projection of the distribution of refugees based on the party affiliation of a state’s governor makes no sense whatsoever, and he doesn’t bother to provide any support for the wild claim. Even using the example that he provided, the facts show that California has already taken in 218 Syrian refugees this year (more than any other state), while Florida has taken only 104 (placing them down at seventh). What’s more, states with Republican governors can be expected to receive more refugees simply because there are more of them. Currently there are 31 states led by Republicans and 18 by Democrats.
Furthermore, Trump’s assertion that there are plans to resettle “hundreds of thousands” of refugees must have been pulled straight out of his ass, because there is no such estimate in reality. The federal government has committed to receiving about 10,000 refugees. So Trump is only off by at least ninety percent.
Now if you’re wondering how Trump can get away with making such blatantly false comments and still retain his position at the top of the GOP primary contest, the answer is in the the type of voter to whom Trump is appealing. A new survey (pdf) by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) reveals that Trump’s supporters are fervently opposed to immigrants with 69% saying that “immigration is a critical issue to them personally.” That compares to only 50% of supporters of other Republican candidates. In addition, the survey found that…
Trump supporters are much more likely to express negative views of immigrants than the supporters of other candidates. Eight in ten (80%) Trump supporters say that immigrants today are a burden to the U.S. because they take American jobs, housing, and health care. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Trump supporters say that it bothers them when they come into contact with immigrants who speak little or no English.
Never mind that it is completely untrue that immigrants are taking jobs from Americans or are consuming financial benefits. What’s most disturbing about these findings is the overt bigotry of the Trump contingent. But it gets even worse:
Trump supporters also express greater concern about discrimination against white Americans and white men in particular. Roughly three-quarters (74%) of Trump supporters — compared to 57% of supporters of all other Republican candidates — agree that, today, discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities.
That must be why it’s so hard for white men to get jobs, or find housing. And it explains why so many of them are being killed while unarmed by police officers. [/snark] It would be bad enough if there were a significant portion of Trump’s supporters who held these absurd opinions, but these numbers are frighteningly high. It means that 75% of Trump’s followers are seriously deranged in a way that exposes the rancid biases of the Republican Party. Because in the end, Trump’s followers are GOP voters, and when he eventually flames out, the Party is still going to have to appeal to these same cretins to support their nominee.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
When a president is NOT respected or trusted as this one is, you can expect this kind of treatment. There are so many other things to say about this poor excuse for a president – he (Donald Trump) really doesn’t need to make things up. And this isn’t an immigration or discrimination issue as much as it’s a security issue. So continuing to suggest this is just anti-immigration and/or discriminatory rhetoric is nonsense. You’re just as guilty of stoking hatred as anyone – of course your hatred is toward fellow americans who disagree with you on issues such as this.
Missed the point AGAIN!
No, I think I got it. I’m just not going to ignore everything else for the benefit of your argument. I don’t comply with the very narrow approach that he uses to camouflage his hatred for anyone not in his camp. And by the way – he wandered into the immigrant argument intentionally to support his theory about why people support Donald Trump. He could have balanced with the actual concerns people have about “refugees” from Syria – see polls today showing a majority of people (53%) wanting to stop the letting these “refugees” in – see bloomberg polling – that is not based on party. So if you want to discuss the true feelings of the people of the country vs. an accusation even I stated was made up – this article falls well short. And I like calling this president out for what he is. Mark plays you like Trump plays his followers.
When a president is NOT respected or trusted as this one is by racists, you can expect more racism.There are so many other racist things to say about this poor excuse for a president – he (Donald Trump) really doesn’t need to make racist things up.
Every criticism of this president isn’t racism – he is out of his depth and has been since day 1 – I’m just pointing out the obvious. You unyielding bias is more your problem.
Just to show you how broadly he isn’t supported by the US population, here is real clear politics polling:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html
Are you suggesting 50+% of the population is racist? If he was so great, these polls wouldn’t show such results.
You mean the president that people like you refer to as “the nigger in the White House”?
I’ll take that comment as proof I’m right and it pisses you off.
Who is this Donald Trump I keep hearing so much about?
Trump is certifiably insane. Or just a normal Republican with a soapbox. President Obama is so far above all the clown car occupants that he really can’t be compared. He has intellect, true wit, and compassion for his lessers. But he doesn’t suffer fools gladly, as the saying goes. I would give him a 3rd term if it were allowable.
Ironic that the Repubs hate Obama, yet this lineup is best they can do for the country they claim to love so much. If they really loved their country they would call out the entire lot of them for being unfit to hold the office.
And if the candidates were all Democrats, they would have. That’s what’s so pathetic about the whole thing…
Now that was a funny post!
WOW, still a big steaming pile of horsesh– TRump is. Always has been, always will be. What a shi–y president he would be. Shudder the thought this as-hole, TRump, would be in charge of anything, let alone the country.