Over 860 hate incidents since US elections Michelle will ‘never’ run for White House: Obama
WASHINGTON — Civil rights groups have called for president-elect Donald Trump to forcefully and publicly denounce racism and bigotry, pointing to more than 860 bias-related incidents recorded in the 10 days following his November 8 victory.
After running a divisive campaign, Trump promised — after winning — to be a president for all Americans, said representatives of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Council of La Raza and the American Federation of Teachers.
Trump needs to follow through on that pledge and publicly denounce the bias- and hate-related incidents that popped up around the country, said Richard Cohen, SPLC’s president.
“One of our great, great hopes at the Southern Poverty Law Centre is that Mr Trump mightily disappoints the white supremacists, the white nationalists who are celebrating his victory now,” Cohen said.
In an interview on 60 Minutes, Trump — when told about some of the harassment — said if it was his supporters for them to “stop it”. In an interview with The New York Times, Trump denounced the white supremacist movement when asked. But he needs to do more, the groups said.
“A president-elect has to create a climate that keeps all Americans safe,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
In the 10 days following the November election, WASHINGTON — For anyone who might like to see Michelle Obama run for president as a Democrat, it’s time to rein in that early enthusiasm. Or so says her husband, President Barack Obama.
“Michelle will never run for office,” the president said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine done the day after Donald Trump’s surprise win, and amid some social media swirl urging the first lady to consider throwing her hat in the ring.
“She is as talented a person as I know. You can see the incredible resonance she has with the American people. But I joke that she’s too sensible to want to be in politics,” Obama said.
Her confidence and style struck a strong chord on the campaign trail, where she supported Hillary Clinton.
SPLC said it collected 867 hate-related incidents on its website and through the media from almost every state, with Hawaii, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota the only exceptions. Their numbers exclude reports of online harassment. The group has not independently verified each claim, but said it has weeded out any reported hoaxes.
Anti-immigrant hate incidents targeting Latinos, Asians and Africans made up the largest number of claims, even though many Latinos and Asians in the The first lady slammed Trump’s attitude toward and treatment of women. Obama, who will be 53 when she leaves the White House, is the first black first lady in American history. Her husband is 55.
A Harvard-educated lawyer, she will leave the White House on January 20 enjoying sky-high ratings — approved by 79 percent of the American public, according to a recent Gallup survey. That makes her more popular than her husband, the first African American president of the US.
Asked about her ambitions in the past, Michelle Obama has repeatedly said that she would not follow in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton, who ran for the presidency her husband Bill held from 1993-2001. — AP
US are second- or third-generation American citizens. Those incidents were followed by anti-black and antiSemitic incidents.
Schools and universities were the most common places for incidents to happen. Most often the incidents were through graffiti and verbal harassment, according to SPLC’s information.
For example, SPLC said a Colorado mother reported that her 12-year-old African-American daughter was approached by a boy who said, “Now Trump is president, I’m going to shoot you and all the blacks I can find.” A Washington state teacher reported that “Build a wall” was chanted in their lunchroom the day after the election.
A Louisiana woman said she was getting ready to cross the street when a truck with three white men pulled up and shouted vulgar words at her. “One began to chant ‘Trump’ as they drove away,” the black woman said. And a lesbian couple in Austin, Texas, reported that “DYKE,” ‘’Trump” and a swastika were painted on their door.
In a separate survey, more than 10 000 teachers told SPLC they knew of more than 2 500 fights, threats and other incidents related to election rhetoric, and reported an increase in slurs and derogatory language, swastikas, Confederate flags and Nazi salutes.
“This polarised and divisive election has left its mark on all of us, but most tragically on our children,” said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza. “We have heard countless stories of harassment, intimidation and bullying of Latino and other students in schools around this country. This cannot stand.”
The number of incidents has slowed in the days following the election, but anyone expecting the hate to just vanish is being naive, Cohen said. “It’s not just going to go away,” he said.
In fact, the groups expect more hate-related incidents around Inauguration Day, said Brenda Abdelall, charities program director of Muslim Advocates. “To bring us together as a nation, [Trump] will need to disavow dangerous proposals and ideas that single out and demonise Muslims and other communities,” she said.
Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said it is clear that not all Trump supporters are racist. But Trump “needs to lead by example in both words and in deed”, Henderson said. — AFP