By Dr. Yaounde Olu
The 2024 presidential election is speeding toward us with phenomenal velocity; it will be here in a flash. Things are really heating up, and there are new serious concerns about the safety of people and our leaders. In this regard, it has happened again –presidential candidate Donald Trump has been the target of an assassination attempt.
Just about two months ago, Trump was the victim of another assassination attempt.
This is a reality check. It says a lot about the nature of America that has sold itself as the top country in the world. But we can’t take that for granted anymore if we consider the escalating cases of gun incidents that have targeted citizens, and in Trump’s case, a presidential candidate.
In a show of concern, presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, VP candidate Tim Walz, and President Joe Biden all wasted no time in forwarding concern and words of relief and encouragement to Trump, who was not harmed.
Those incidents have come on the heels of Donald Trump’s mean-spirited campaign strategies. In the eyes of most people, Trump was defeated in a debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s traditional approach has been to use insults and negative aspersions cast against his opponents, and the debate strategy was true to form.
One of the main, ugly accusations bandied about to augment the many lies that he has utilized is the most recent one, viewed as preposterous. It is the allegation that illegal Haitian immigrants are eating American cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. He allegedly was briefed on this assertion by his vice president, Sen. JD Vance, who said that his constituents reported that Haitian immigrants were stealing American cats and dogs and eating them!!! Neither he, nor Donald Trump, has provided a shred of proof supporting these allegations.
This situation has elicited a firestorm of responses. And there are those who fear that the Haitians, which are NOT ILLEGAL, might be physically, psychologically, and emotionally harmed by these preposterous allegations. Basically, the immigrant slant has been one of Trump’s most trusted strategies for shoring up support for his campaign. In other words, he loves using racism, sexism, and other forms of divisive hate rhetoric against others. Unfortunately, he has been able to gain a wide following for his supporters who “want to take their country back.”
Basically, Trump has masterfully sown the seeds of dissention, and his favorite scapegoats have been immigrants. He has said that “millions” of illegal immigrants are the ones creating problems in America.
Unfortunately, because of Trump’s rhetoric, the whole tone of things in America is turning negative. Immigrants are being blamed. Ironically, the white Americans who support Trump are spewing hatred toward immigrants, most of whom are NOT illegal.
The irony is that ALL AMERICANS, with the exception of African Americans who were involuntarily brought here as slaves, are immigrants. The only people who are not immigrants are Native Americans. This was originally their land, so when Trump and his cohorts talk about taking America back, they are stopping short of truth. Moreover, Trump’s wife and J.D. Vance’s wife are immigrants.
If the truth be told, the strength of America can be found in its immigrants! This country was founded on the diversity evident everywhere in America, and Trump’s strategy of divide and conquer targeting immigrants is extremely short-sighted. It is essentially a veiled war against “others” and is saturating the U.S. with hatred. This is unfortunate because America is the one country on the planet that has a unique destiny that can demonstrate the efficacy of diversity – America is the world’s melting pot, or, better still, “social salad.” The more diversity that exists, the richer we are as a nation. Too bad Trump and his cohorts are not intelligent enough to understand this idea. Aluta Continua.
The Chicago Crusader originally published this story at chicagocrusader.com.