dir of American University’s Asia, Pacific & Diaspora Studies program.
#Immigration & #border #security has been a [favorite issue of Republicans] leading up to the Nov election; [going so far as to block strong new #bipartisan #Immigration #law just to keep it an unsolved issue to campaign on]. #Republicans have singled out #Springfield, which has seen an influx of #Haitian #immigrants in recent years after a boom in #manufacturing jobs attracted new residents.
…#Trump repeating the #lies about #Springfield residents’ pets—which #Republican Party leaders picked up from a Facebook post [remarkably questionable source to base a #terror campaign on]& #JDVance elevated Mon—fits into Trump’s record of portraying #immigrants broadly as threats. His attempts to #vilify immigrants & people of color, including his campaign’s use of #racist tropes, align w/tactics that #populist & #authoritarian leaders have used throughout #history, scholars and historians say.
Such leaders win support by creating fear about certain groups, then portraying themselves as the only person who can address the problems they cause, said Florida International University #law professor Ediberto Román, who studies #xenophobia & #immigration.…
#TrumpIsARacist #racism #WhiteSupremacy #WhiteNationalism #authoritarianism #FearMongering #StochasticTerrorism #extremism #hate
