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Instead, when Trump spoke on Friday night of a “growing danger,” he was talking about an entirely different threat than rising coronavirus cases. He referred to a threat to America’s “heritage” — rhetoric intended to rev up his base at a time when many Americans are attempting to relearn the nation’s history with greater attention to the wrongs inflicted on Black and Native American people.
Repeatedly using vague pronouns like “they” and “them,” Trump sought to play on the fears of a minority — that appears to be shrinking, according to polls — who view the rise of Black Lives Matter as a threat to the historical dominance of White people. He described the goals of protesters who are attempting to right the wrongs of history as “alien to our culture, and to our values.”
One of “their political weapons,” he said, is “cancel culture,” which would drive people from their jobs, shame dissenters and “demand total submission” from anyone who disagrees.
“We will expose this dangerous movement, protect our nation’s children, end this radical assault and preserve our beloved American way of life,” Trump said. He mysteriously described those who would tear down statues of racist leaders from the past as “a new far left fascism that demands absolute allegiance.”
“If you do not speak its language, perform its rituals, recite its mantras and follow its commandments, then you will be censored, banished, blacklisted, persecuted and punished,” Trump said. “It’s not gonna happen to us,” he said to cheers, as he revived his familiar “us versus them” language. “Make no mistake. This left-wing cultural revolution is designed to overthrow the American Revolution.”
“To make this possible, they are determined to tear down every statue, symbol and memory of our national heritage,” he said.
A pandemic all but forgotten
It was spectacle that unfolded before thousands of people, most without masks, who were seated close together in bleacher seats and on black folding chairs that were zip-tied together because of a local fire code, making physical distancing impossible.
For days now, numerous experts, including the nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci and White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, have warned that Americans should not attend crowded gatherings as cases surge in 36 states, with alarming positivity rates in parts of Florida, Texas and Arizona.
“This is great news, but even better news is that death, and the death rate, is DOWN,” Trump tweeted. “Also, younger people, who get better much easier and faster!”
And while some of his closest allies are urging Trump to take a greater leadership role on masks, and even Trump himself told Fox News Business this week that he has nothing against masks, the President has refused to wear one publicly in front of the press.
Protecting statues
Just like he does on his Twitter feed, which is dominated by dismay over the toppling of statues of racist figures from America’s past, Trump minimized the dangers of the pandemic Friday night in South Dakota, expressing more concern for the safety of statues than of the American people.
“Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities,” Trump said. “Many of these people have no idea why they’re doing this, but some know exactly what they are doing. They think the American people are weak and soft and submissive. But, no, the American people are strong and proud, and they will not allow our country, and all of its values, history and culture to be taken from them.”
The President suggested that the monument towering above him, which includes the faces of Washington, Jefferson and former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, was also at risk as America reconsiders its past. “I am here as your president to proclaim before the country and before the world, this monument will never be desecrated,” Trump said.
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