Trump’s divisive rhetoric can only win if decent people remain silent
President Donald Trump is once again trying to stoke anger toward people of color, this time with his threats and ugly rhetoric about a migrant caravan trying to making its way through Mexico to the U.S.
But while Americans can’t stop the sewage that comes out of Trump’s mouth, they can do something more than pound their fists or grind their teeth over his latest hateful remark or tweet.
By voting for congressional Democrats who can establish a check on Trump, we can show him that we won’t allow him to divide us.
That message would be especially powerful if Latino voters turned out in large numbers and proved that they could no longer be ignored.
With about 55 million Latinos in the U.S. — 18 percent of the total population — that’s more than enough to tip elections and help steer the nation back from Trump’s extremism. And considering that the Latino population is expected to grow to 119 million by 2060 if current trends continue, they’re poised to be a growing political force for years to come.
This is the year those voters can become a force. By turning out and helping replace the Republicans who’ve abdicated their responsibility to hold Trump accountable, Latino voters can roar at the ballot box.
If you are Latino, Trump and the GOP have made it obvious that they see you as a suspicious second-class citizen. This must be stopped and it can be, at the ballot box.
Clearly, it’s time. Far too many GOP senators and U.S. House members, including Sen. Dean Heller, R-nev., either look the other way or cheer Trump’s irresponsible behavior, terrified that they may be targeted by a nasty tweet if they criticize the president in the slightest.
This is a party that didn’t challenge Trump’s uncorroborated claim that the migrant caravan included “criminals and unknown Middle Easterners.” It’s a party that didn’t set the record straight after Trump, at a recent rally in Montana, supported an unhinged conspiracy theory that the caravan was being paid by Demo- crats to vote in the midterm election. But most of all, it’s a party that has capitulated to a leader with a long history of denigrating minorities, women, Muslims and other groups, with his remarks on the caravan just being the latest.
That’s why the next two weeks are so critical, and why Latino voters are such an important part of this election.
Not only could those voters play a large role in sending Democrats to Washington, but a strong turnout would force Republicans in diverse states and districts to reconsider their allegiance to Trump.
In Clark County, Latino voters have already shown their strength, as high turnout among them in 2016 helped Hillary Clinton defeat Trump in Nevada and resulted in Democrats reclaiming majorities in both the state House and Senate.
And that was before the family separa- tions at the border, his shamefully inadequate response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, his remarks about “very fine” people at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., and the list goes on. This is a president whose administration has put 2-year-olds in court to testify on their own behalf after being separated from their parents for months, and is making moves to permanently separate some kids from their parents.
Now comes the caravan, and it’s the same story.
But words have consequences. And with Latino voters leading the way, Americans can show Republicans what happens when they allow themselves to become the party of Trump instead of helping unify the nation, serve all of us and set the standard for civilized, responsible leadership.
It won’t be pretty for them.