The most ridiculous thing about Donald Trump’s xenophobic, demagogic assault on Central American amnesty seekers is that his frantic demand to build a $5-billion-dollar border wall is not his most ridiculous ploy.
Even more ridiculous is his panicky political assertion that the caravans coming north through Mexico are gangs of rapists, murderers, and terrorists out to slaughter and conquer us! Never mind that the migrants he demonizes are overwhelmingly women, children, and peaceful families who’re fleeing the terrifying gangs, extortionists and corrupt officials who’ve turned their lives in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras into hell. But rather than greet these refugees with a policy of common compassion and long-term solutions, Trump and his fellow Republican screechers have militarized the border to separate them from their children, incarcerate them, and turn them into political pawns for Trump’s re-election campaign.
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But wait – it gets more ridiculous. Crying that the three countries should bar these desperate families from fleeing the horrors of home, Trump has peevishly – and stupidly – cut off US aid intended to battle the gang violence driving them northward. Okay, Trump has no empathy or subtlety, but how smart do you have to be to see that if you have no strategy to help mitigate the nightmarish conditions of your neighbors you’ll have to cope with the fallout on your own doorstep.
Most ridiculous of all, though, is that we have a president with a moral compass that points only to policies that serve his ego and political needs. Trump doesn’t really want any border solution at all, not even a wall – he wants a “crisis,” a bugaboo to demagogue for his own political advancement, no matter how many families suffer. He’s a pathetic weakling of a president, ridiculously masquerading as a “strong man.”
“How Trump Helps MS-13,” The New York Times, May 11, 2019.
“Build Central America, Not a Wall,” The New York Times, February 26, 2019.
“Pentagon to send thousands more troops to Mexico border,” Austin American Statesman, January 30, 2019.
“Government trying to turn Trump’s lies into truths,” Austin American Statesman, January 30, 2019.
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