The Washington Post headline was blunt: “‘A blowtorch to the tinder’: Stoking racial tensions is a feature of Trump’s presidency.”
Among other things Philip Rucker wrote these "reporter's insights":
“President Trump this week likened Hispanic immigrants to vermin. He warned that they would ‘pour into and infest our country.’ And he defended his administration’s family separation policy by alleging that parents crossing the southern border with their children were poised to commit crime and murder.”
….The president referred to some African nations as “shithole countries.” He posited that “both sides” were to blame for last summer’s deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. And, again and again, he has accused black football players who took a knee during the playing of the national anthem to protest police discrimination of being un-American.”
When one follows the two links provided by the Post in those opening paragraphs, one finds these two things. First, this presidential tweet:
“Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!”
And second, there was this comment from Trump at a meeting with lawmakers:
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” The reference was, said the story, to “Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.”
Okay. Let’s stop here and point out the unpopular fact that underlies this kind of “reporting.”
Let’s directly compare the first paragraph of the Post story with the actual text of the link included:
Here’s the Post paragraph - bold print supplied:
“President Trump this week likened Hispanic immigrants to vermin. He warned that they would ‘pour into and infest our country.’And he defended his administration’s family separation policy by alleging that parents crossing the southern border with their children were poised to commit crime and murder.”
Here, again, is the actual tweet from the President:
“Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our Country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!”
Question? What two words do you not see in the President’s tweet that are actually attributed to him in the Post story? Answer? These two words: “Hispanic immigrants.” In fact, the President never said those two words at all. He said the words “illegal immigrants” - a decidedly colorblind term that refers only to those who enter the United States illegally. He also specifically referred to MS-13, the notorious gang that in fact openly advertises its murderous intent with the motto “kill, rape, control.”
In fact, over at The Fiscal Times among many other places, one learns this about the illegal immigrants coming into America:
“In 37 states, a country other than Mexico is now the most common country of origin for newly arrived immigrants, according to a Stateline analysis of census data.
The numbers reflect a steep decline in Mexican immigration since 2005 and point to a swift and dramatic shift toward Asia — especially China and India — as the dominant source of newcomers to the U.S.”
Over at the Pew Research Center there is this similar fact: “From 2009 to 2015, the number of unauthorized immigrants from Asia and Central America rose.”
All of this comes before you get to these other gems about presidential rhetoric from the Post story:
“….he has accused black football players who took a knee…”
He “… referred to some African nations as ‘shithole countries.’”
Now. One reads all this and has to ask the obvious (although never obvious to Leftists… unless it is) question: Who really is playing the race card here? Who is so obsessed with the color of someone’s skin color that they reconfigure a tweet that never mentions race into one that is all about race? Changing “illegal immigrants” to…but of course…the racial “Hispanic immigrants.”
Answer? The Washington Post.
The real question that the liberal media will freeze over in hell before asking is: Why is the American Left always playing the race card? The incontrovertible fact of history is that the American Left now and throughout its entire history in America has depended on race to get its politicians elected and, yes, to sell newspapers and get ratings.
Not for the first time, a progressive media outlet obsessed with race card playing makes a Republican President into a racist. (And make no mistake, this kind of disgraceful garbage has been done to other Republican presidents - Bushes 43 and 41 and Reagan only the most recent.)
The real necessity here is for the Trump White House and the conservative media to stand up and call out not just the Post but any left-wing outlet that keeps playing this obsessive game with race. And to realize that this kind of story in the Post has a long, very long history in progressive/Left media.
One would think that it is time -- more than time -- to stop it. Don’t hold your breath.
