Trump Supports Hanging White Politicians, Likely Black Ones Too
Trump Expressed Support For Hanging White Politicians: We Can Only Imagine How He Feels About Black Ones
The imagery of white bodies hanging from trees definitely fits the description of “strange fruit.”
Billie Holiday’s legendary protest song from 1939 was an ode to the thousands of Black Americans who suffered the horrific fate of lynching, which remains one of America’s greatest sins.
On Thursday, we learned that the President of the United States apparently still believes there’s a place for such repugnant acts of violence, as he reposted a suggestion on social media during one of his usual rants.
“HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!” was the social media post from @P78 on Truth Social that Trump reposted. The president was angry because multiple lawmakers from the Democratic Party took part in a video in which they urged intelligence officers and military members to “refuse illegal orders” from Trump.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT,” Trump posted in response to Reps. Jason Crow of Colorado, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, along with Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
The lawmakers, all veterans or national security professionals, issued a joint statement, saying in part, “What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty.
“But this isn’t about any one of us. This isn’t about politics. This is about who we are as Americans. Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it an “outright threat” that is “deadly serious.”
As is typically the case, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson came to Trump’s defense by saying that the Democrats — the ones who oppose people hanging from trees — were the ones who acted “wildly inappropriate.”
Less than three months after political violence in Utah took the life of a member of the Republican Party, the leader of the Republican Party is again stoking the flames, just as he did on January 6th, 2021.
While shocking, the actions of the current occupant of the Oval Office are in line with who he has shown himself to be, as he and his supporters seem to be enamored with the immoralities of the past, such as Confederate generals and Hitlerian imagery.
When they say “Make America Great Again,” these are the times they’re referring to, as they believe this is when the country was at its greatest. It’s why they’re attempting to rename army bases for losers (Confederate generals), and are banning books that detail the stories of a gruesome past. In 2018, a white Republican U.S. Senator from Mississippi, Cindy Hyde-Smith, was caught on video at a campaign event in which she said she would attend a “public hanging” if invited to one.
With violence of this magnitude being aimed at white lawmakers, one wonders what the reaction of the president would have been if Black politicians had taken part in the video or other legislators from communities of color.
Currently, there are four Black U.S. Senators in office: Cory Booker (New Jersey), Raphael Warnock (Georgia), Angela Alsobrooks (Maryland), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware). The count is actually five if you include Tim Scott, the Republican from South Carolina. However, Trump notably overlooked him as a vice presidential candidate, indicating his feelings toward Scott. “Donald Trump has done more for progress from a racial perspective economically than any president in my lifetime,” Scott hilariously claimed last year.
With over 60 African-Americans currently serving in the House of Representatives and as Delegates, one can only speculate the level of vitriol that would have been directed at them if they had been the ones to anger Trump. In 2019, he referred to the late Congressman Elijah Cummings as a “brutal bully.” He labeled Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) as “low IQ” at least seven times in one year. And recently, Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has been in his crosshairs as he called her a “lowlife.”
“Let me tell you before you even ask. She’s a very low-IQ person,” Trump said of Crockett last month. “I mean, if we ever had to pass an aptitude test, that’s the one [who] should take one. … This is a low-IQ person who I can’t even believe is a congressperson.”
The horrible history of lynching in America is intertwined with these racist tropes disparaging Black intelligence.
“I believe that the fact that he so often attacks the intellectual capacity of women and minorities exposes a racial and gender bias, one that has a long history and a wide acceptance,” former New York Times Columnist Charles M. Blow once wrote.
On the same day that America’s Commander-in-Chief supported the idea of lynching politicians of differing ideologies, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it would no longer classify nooses, swastikas, and the Confederate Flag as hate symbols. The new guidelines would refer to the trio as “potentially divisive.” The Coast Guard later walked back that policy after receiving backlash for it.
Those in denial will view this as a coincidence. The rest of us understand that racism and hate are often orchestrated.
In 2018, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, commonly referred to as the National Lynching Memorial, was opened in Birmingham, Alabama, as it’s dedicated to the more than 4,400 Black people who were lynched between 1877 and 1950 on American soil. In September, Colin Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative” paid for an independent autopsy for a Black student who was found dead hanging from a tree on the campus of Delta State University in Mississippi.
For over a century, the imagery and horror that’s connected to lynching has been a weight that’s been solely carried by Black Americans. On Thursday, the president insinuated that white Democratic lawmakers should possibly start sharing that burden. And if that isn’t a wakeup call to white Americans on both sides of the aisle, then I’m not sure what could be.
Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his Substack to keep up with more of his work.
SEE ALSO:
Black Man Found Hanging From A Tree In New York, Police Call It Suicide
MAGA Rapper Drops ‘N-Word’ In Racist Song About Lynching
Trump Expressed Support For Hanging White Politicians: We Can Only Imagine How He Feels About Black Ones was originally published on newsone.com
