The Trump silencing treatment
Columbus, Ohio: After watching Megyn Kelly interview Newt Gingrich on Fox News, I watched another show in which two Trump surrogates were yelling at the news anchor that he could not say that Trump’s words mean anything. Not just yelling; yelling over his words so that he could not speak his mind. It amazes me that the people who are defending Trump believe it is their right to silence those who take Trump at his word. They have adopted the maxim that the best defense is a good offense.
That they actually think this is a legitimate strategy says so much about the power of sexism in our society. You could see Gingrich’s chest swell with indignation as he attempted to shut down Kelly. And while I do not agree with most of Kelly’s political positions, I was duly impressed by her composure and her unwillingness to be bullied. In fact, I was applauding my television and cheering her on. After all, who does he think he is? He is the remnants of an old and dying institution in which white men have absolute power over all levels of business and politics, and abuse that power absolutely.
Trump and his surrogates can attempt to silence people all you want. You cannot silence our vote. Ignore us at your peril, because the party of white, bigoted men is no longer large enough to carry the day on its own. The majority of citizens of our country value inclusion. You would do well politically to heed this sea change. Paula Gluntz