Was Donald Trump dog whistling socialists?
Jan 15, 2018, 7:44 AM
Using vulgar language, Trump questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Africa rather than places like Norway in rejecting a bipartisan immigration deal. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
When President Donald Trump used his outhouse metaphor last week to say we don’t need immigrants from certain countries, he was making an assumption – which underlies the fears of everyone who worries about immigration.
Can we pardon President Trump’s French?
The assumptions are:
- Today’s immigrants are different from the immigrants we learned about in grade school and on Ken Burns documentaries.
- Today’s immigrants come here not to fit in and become Americans, but establish a beachhead.
- Today’s immigrants come here as invaders determined to impose their cultures on the rest of us.
It’s that fear of cultural change that helped elect Donald Trump.
Which is why I’m surprised nobody seems to be focusing on the rest of what he said. He said the United States should bring in more people from countries such as Norway.
Well — and I floated this on my Twitter feed last week — does he realize what it would mean if hundreds of thousands of Norwegians started showing up bringing their cultural values with them? Does he realize Norway is a country where education is free, including college? Does he realize it has universal healthcare? That national unions represent over half the workforce? That if you don’t like your job you can quit without fear of losing health coverage or slipping into poverty?
Could it be that Donald Trump was sending a dog whistle; not to racists – but to socialists?
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