By John Q. Hosedrinker 
While promising economic relief, Trump’s 2024 campaign primarily centered on racist rhetoric and policies, focusing on the dehumanization of immigrants. This included spreading false narratives and making promises of mass deportations, which he actively pursued in his second term. His administration then weaponized the government, deploying federal agents to target marginalized communities, leading to tragic consequences and widespread protests. These actions have emboldened open displays of bigotry, with government officials even sharing white nationalist ideologies.
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Racism Is The Only Campaign Promise Trump Has Kept
The harsh reality, it seems, is that Donald Trump’s presidency, despite the many promises tossed about during his campaigns, has delivered on one specific pledge above all others: racism. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but the evidence, the actions, and the voices of his supporters all point in this direction. While other promises – from infrastructure to healthcare – became punchlines, the consistent through-line, the thread that wove its way through every policy decision and public statement, was a blatant appeal to racial prejudice. This is not just an observation; it’s a conclusion drawn from the core of his actions.
Consider the dog whistles, the coded language that allowed his supporters to hear what they wanted to hear. The thinly veiled attacks on immigrants, the emphasis on border walls, and the rhetoric that demonized entire groups of people. These weren’t accidental missteps; they were deliberate strategies designed to resonate with a specific segment of the population. The fact that these messages were so successful, and that they continue to resonate, is a testament to the power of racial division in American politics. The economic anxieties were always a flimsy cover. The “MAGA” movement’s core is a white supremacist movement that is primarily concerned about culture wars and white grievances.
And it wasn’t just the rhetoric; it was the policy. The travel bans targeting Muslim-majority countries, the separation of families at the border, the relentless attacks on voting rights, and the attempts to undermine civil rights protections. Each of these actions, cloaked in legal jargon, had the clear and undeniable effect of marginalizing and harming communities of color. The infrastructure week and health care that never happened were ignored.
The implications are disturbing. This isn’t just a matter of political disagreement; it’s about the very fabric of our society. It’s about a government that weaponizes its power against vulnerable communities, using fear and division as tools of control. We saw it in his actions. It is a calculated plan to ruin lives and rot institutions long after he’s gone. This isn’t populism. This isn’t law and order. This is racism, plain and simple.
The evidence for this is everywhere. It’s in the words of his supporters, who often admit, sometimes proudly, that their primary concern is the handling of immigration. It’s in the policies he enacted, which disproportionately targeted people of color. It’s in the constant stream of dog whistles and coded language that signaled his true intentions. And it’s in the way he has empowered and emboldened white supremacist groups, giving them a platform and a sense of legitimacy they never had before.
This should come as no surprise. He promised retribution for his enemies, he promised to be a dictator from day one, and he kept both promises. These are the promises that mattered, the promises that resonated with his base, the promises that drove his supporters to the polls. Forget the tasteless displays of wealth and the childish behavior; the real danger lies in the policies. The racism that was promised and voted for is being delivered.
Many of his voters do not care about anything else. It is the only thing the republicans have for working people. For some, they’ll even go further. The “smart ones” say he’s trolling, and are delighted with it. They love to see us agitated. It’s not about economic anxiety, or cultural grievances. It’s about racism, and it’s the only promise he’s consistently kept.
It’s disheartening to watch the denial and deflection, the attempts to explain away the obvious. The conservatives who are seemingly unaware of what’s happening or who pretend they do not see any of this. The delusion is real. The truth is often painful, but it’s essential to face it. This is not a matter of opinion; it’s a matter of fact. And the sooner we acknowledge the truth, the better chance we have of confronting and overcoming it.
The people who voted for Trump in either 2020 or 2024 are racists. It’s as simple as that. And it is a failure of our government and our society that this is all they wanted.