A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
[link removed]
***********************

Friend,

Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” email series that serves to remind
us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered
during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA
movement still pose – and to keep those moments clear in our memory as we
fight to defeat Republican extremists during the upcoming elections.

This week’s Trumptastrophe focuses on former President Trump’s history of
cozying up to white nationalists – and his hesitancy to distance himself
from them following the deadly protests in Charlottesville in 2017:

On Friday night August 11, 2017, torch-wielding white supremacists marched
across the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Virginia,
chanting “Jews will not replace us!” They were in town for a [ [link removed] ]white
nationalist-organized “Unite the Right” rally the next day, where former
KKK leader David Duke “[ [link removed] ]declared that the scene in Charlottesville is a
‘turning point’ for a movement that aims to ‘fulfill the promises of
Donald Trump.’”

When the protest led by white nationalists turned violent on Saturday
morning and the governor of Virginia declared a state of emergency, Trump
was [ [link removed] ]uncharacteristically silent. James Fields, a 20-year-old from Ohio,
rammed his car into a group of counterprotesters, killing Heather Heyer
and injuring dozens of people.

That afternoon, Trump tweeted from his New Jersey golf club a short
general condemnation of hate and violence. Two hours later he released a
longer statement that said in part, “We condemn in the strongest possible
terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many
sides. On many sides.” As the Washington Post [ [link removed] ]noted at the time, “Trump
never used the words ‘white supremacy’ or ‘white nationalism.’” More from
the Post:

Trump has long tiptoed around the issue of white supremacy and has yet
to provide a full-throttled rebuke of those who invoke his name. He had
to be repeatedly pushed to denounce Duke after the former KKK leader
endorsed him and praised him.

Trump was [ [link removed] ]silent on Sunday as outrage spread about his “many sides”
comments. Under pressure, Trump did [ [link removed] ]denounce violence from neo-Nazis
and the “alt-Right” on Monday. But he was reportedly seething about what
he believed was unfair media coverage of his response, and used a
combative [ [link removed] ]press conference the following day to repeatedly slam the
media as “fake news.”

It was during that press conference that Trump responded to a reporter’s
question about neo-Nazis who showed up in Charlottesville by saying “you
had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were
very fine people, on both sides.” In that press conference, he denounced
neo-Nazis while claiming that there were also “very, very violent” people
among the counterprotesters.

Trump also claimed the Friday night protest had featured people
“protesting very quietly” plans to remove a statue of Confederate General
Robert E. Lee, a claim refuted by the Washington Post’s fact-checker.

Trump’s response to the bigotry and violence of the far-right Unite the
Right organizers reminds us why he has been, and remains, a threat to
democratic values:

* When Trump first ran for president, the groups most [ [link removed] ]energized by
his campaign were conservative white [ [link removed] ]evangelicals and [ [link removed] ]white
nationalists, who were electrified by his aggressively cruel rhetoric
against immigrants. When Trump clinched the Republican nomination, the
Neo-Nazi site Daily Stormer filled with posts [ [link removed] ]celebrating what one
called “Trump’s decisive victory over the evil enemies of our race.”
* In the Trump era, racist and antisemitic bigots have been
[ [link removed] ]emboldened to express their toxic hatreds openly on far-right
streaming platforms, and MAGA Republican officials have repeatedly
appeared at their [ [link removed] ]events and on their [ [link removed] ]programs.
* MAGA insider Michael Flynn and members of Trump’s family have
repeatedly joined businessman Clay Clark in the ReAwaken America Tour,
a traveling festival of radicalization which continues to expose
thousands of MAGA activists to violent rhetoric from far-right
purveyors of bigotry like Stew Peters.
* Donald Trump has continued to play footsie with his party’s far-right.
In 2022, Right Wing Watch broke the story that Trump had just hosted
Kanye West—already under fire for his increasingly vocal antisemitism—
and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who was familiar to Right Wing
Watch readers but not most of the national media, which [ [link removed] ]turned to
Right Wing Watch for credible information on the far-right extremist
who had entered Trump’s inner sanctum. Followers of Fuentes’s ideology
have [ [link removed] ]infiltrated right-wing media and [ [link removed] ]local Republican Party
positions.
* On August 5, Trump did an online [ [link removed] ]interview with far-right online
personality Adin Ross, who has promoted Fuentes and other white
nationalists. As the Verge [ [link removed] ]reported, Ross “was repeatedly banned
from Twitch for using racial slurs before being permanently banned
last year after featuring a chat stream where users spammed racial and
antisemitic slurs. Ross migrated to the alternative streaming site
Kick, where he continued his antics, which included hosting known
white supremacist Nick Fuentes.”

Trump’s campaign, and MAGA movement leaders like Steve Bannon and Stephen
Miller, attempt to build power with an inflammatory politics of grievance
that tries to stoke racial resentments among white conservatives by
convincing them that ethnic minorities are out to steal “their” country
through immigration and programs designed to expand educational and
economic opportunity.

Trump and the toxic MAGA ideology stand in the way of progress toward a
multiracial, multiethnic, multireligious democracy where all people have
the freedom, opportunities, and resources to share fully in the blessings
of liberty.

These are just some of the reasons we need YOU in this
fight. So, find your
favorite way to unwind after reading through this week’s recap, and then
make a plan for how you will fight back this week, this month, this
election cycle.

For members who are interested in sharing the weekly Trumptastrophe
series, [ [link removed] ]you can find all previous editions on our website! This post
will be published by Thursday so you can share with your friends and
family and remind them of the importance of ensuring that Trump is
defeated again this November.

[ [link removed] ]If you’d like to opt-out of this series but still continue receiving
our other email content, you can do so here >>

Thanks for all that you do to defeat Republican extremism.

– People For the American Way

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ [link removed] ]DONATE NOW

 

 

 


***********************

Do not reply directly to this e-mail. Please use [email protected].

Trouble viewing the email?
VIEW AS WEB PAGE:
[link removed]

This email was sent to [email protected]. Reaching you over email
is the best way we have to let you know about the ways you can take
action to fight the Right Wing and defend our constitutional rights
and values. If you have any thoughts, comments, or criticisms, or if
there's a better email address at which to reach you, please
let us know. If you'd like to unsubscribe from our list, you
can do that here:

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]
. But know that if you leave, it will be harder for you to stay involved with People For the American Way and continue our
crucial work. PFAW is able to win policy battles and elections, and
counter the Right's extremism and hate, because of dedicated
activists like you, and we're always eager to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for your support.

[link removed]

CONTACT:
[link removed]

PRIVACY POLICY:
[link removed]

FACEBOOK:
[link removed]

TWITTER:
[link removed]

YOUTUBE:
[link removed]

1101 15th Street, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC xxxxxx-5002,
202-467-4999

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]