The Mind-Set That Drives Fear, Hate and Donald Trump

The Mind-Set That Drives Fear, Hate and Donald Trump

The Mind-Set That Drives Fear, Hate and Donald Trump

Trump’s worldview is pervasive in the Republican Party and is embodied by its platform.

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With the horror in France and attempted military coup in Turkey, the turbulent days leading up to the Republican convention were marked by political violence around the globe. Yet, as the Republican Party convenes in Cleveland amid escalating threats to democracy abroad, it is important to also understand the looming threat to our democracy in the United States.

Last week, Esquire magazine’s Charles P. Pierce penned a powerful response to presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump’s latest big lie, the totally unsubstantiated claim that, in the aftermath of the slaughter of police officers in Dallas, “some people” called for a moment of silence for the shooter. Trump also painted a frightening picture of the peaceful Black Lives Matter protests nationwide, saying—without a shred of evidence—“you had 11 cities potentially in a blow-up stage.”

Trump’s statement was shameless racial demagoguery, a violent fantasy that Trump invented, as Pierce wrote, “so his followers can stay afraid and angry at the people he wants them to fear and hate.” Lamenting the moral cowardice of Republican leaders such as House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (WI) who have cynically legitimized Trump’s authoritarian ways, Pierce added, “This lie was a marching order and the Party of Lincoln is right in step with him, straight into the burning Reichstag of this man’s mind.”

Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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