Trump fails to lead
Anyone who waves a neo-Nazi flag or stiff-arms a Heil salute and claims to be a patriotic American is utterly ignorant of both Nazism and the ideals of America’s founders.
The same is true of those who honor the Confederate flag, symbol of an act of treason by people willing to destroy our experiment in self rule — government “of the people, by the people and for the people” as Abraham Lincoln put it — to uphold slavery and the control of many by a privileged, plantation-owning few.
That both of these racist, evil causes have been relegated to the trash heap of history after two bloody and horrific wars should send a message that all need to hear. But apparently, some — including the white supremacists who showed up in Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend — don’t know enough to learn from the past.
Maybe we need more classes in history and civics but our guess is that these ignoramuses didn’t pay attention in class, anyway. The point is that we should never let their ignorance have any sway over our nation’s agenda. None.
We should condemn this hatred each and every time it raises its ugly head. And “we” must start with the person elected to administrate the government of all Americans. President Donald Trump’s reaction to the violence and hatred exhibited in Charlottesville over the weekend initially fell dismally short of that standard.
The president was quick to call down “fire and fury” on North Korea in recent weeks. He’s been quick to condemn Muslim terrorism. He is notorious for criticizing other Americans, including leaders in his own political party.
And yet in a tweet on Saturday about Charlottesville he condemned the violence without calling out the white nationalists who were the cause. And in remarks a few hours later, he called for an end to violence “on many sides” seeming to draw a moral equivalence between the white nationalists and peaceful counter-protesters.
Finally, on Monday, three days late and only after enormous pressure, did the president start saying the right things, specifically citing the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists, and calling such groups “repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.” He denounced those who carry out violent acts in the name of racism as “criminals and thugs.”
Too late. And then he doubled down on Tuesday, again blaming both sides. That’s unacceptable. The president is the one who leads the government, and he must send the strongest condemnation of hatred and intolerance in our pluralistic union, where all are equal under the law. Saluting neo-Nazi and Confederate flags is the antithesis of a great America.