Nearly half of Republican votersโand their messianic figurehead, Donald Trumpโare openly embracing one of the darkest chapters of modern history, endorsing policies that echo the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II or, worse, the grotesque state-led oppression seen in totalitarian regimes. According to a pollโconducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)โa staggering 56% of GOP voters support rounding up undocumented immigrants and locking them in military-run detention camps.
This chilling endorsement is not just a reflection of Trumpโs authoritarian rhetoric but a damning indictment of his base, a faction increasingly divorced from democratic norms and unbothered by the stench of militarized xenophobia. These votersโclaiming the mantle of โpatriotismโโapparently believe that tanks and armed soldiers should police their imagined racial purity.
Even Robert P. Jones, the president of PRRI, admitted to feeling a kind of moral nausea at having to ask these questions in the first place, yet here we are. Trumpโs playbook of exploiting baseless fear and resentment to target vulnerable populations seems to be working, with his supporters willing to abandon reason, humanity, and basic arithmetic (since there are far fewer undocumented immigrants than Trump falsely claims).
Trumpโs ludicrous suggestion of deporting 21 million peopleโa number he manufactured out of thin airโis as impractical as it is draconian, requiring a network of camps and a military apparatus that reeks of fascist ambition. Worse, this same demographic cheers him on as he hints at using the military not just against immigrants but against his political enemiesโactivists, journalists, and anyone daring to challenge his authorityโwhom he ominously calls โthe enemy within.โ
What does it say about a political party when nearly half its members are comfortable aligning with policies that would necessitate military force, disregard civil liberties, and perpetuate human suffering on an industrial scale? This isnโt just ignorance; itโs a willful embrace of authoritarian cruelty. If these are the policies Trump and his supporters celebrate, then they are not conservativesโthey are extremists masquerading as patriots, and they represent a grave threat to the ideals America claims to stand for.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐บ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฃ'๐ ๐๐บ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐
Nearly half of Republican votersโand their messianic figurehead, Donald Trumpโare openly embracing one of the darkest chapters of modern history, endorsing policies that echo the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II or, worse, the grotesque state-led oppression seen in totalitarian regimes. According to a pollโconducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI)โa staggering 56% of GOP voters support rounding up undocumented immigrants and locking them in military-run detention camps.
This chilling endorsement is not just a reflection of Trumpโs authoritarian rhetoric but a damning indictment of his base, a faction increasingly divorced from democratic norms and unbothered by the stench of militarized xenophobia. These votersโclaiming the mantle of โpatriotismโโapparently believe that tanks and armed soldiers should police their imagined racial purity.
Even Robert P. Jones, the president of PRRI, admitted to feeling a kind of moral nausea at having to ask these questions in the first place, yet here we are. Trumpโs playbook of exploiting baseless fear and resentment to target vulnerable populations seems to be working, with his supporters willing to abandon reason, humanity, and basic arithmetic (since there are far fewer undocumented immigrants than Trump falsely claims).
Trumpโs ludicrous suggestion of deporting 21 million peopleโa number he manufactured out of thin airโis as impractical as it is draconian, requiring a network of camps and a military apparatus that reeks of fascist ambition. Worse, this same demographic cheers him on as he hints at using the military not just against immigrants but against his political enemiesโactivists, journalists, and anyone daring to challenge his authorityโwhom he ominously calls โthe enemy within.โ
What does it say about a political party when nearly half its members are comfortable aligning with policies that would necessitate military force, disregard civil liberties, and perpetuate human suffering on an industrial scale? This isnโt just ignorance; itโs a willful embrace of authoritarian cruelty. If these are the policies Trump and his supporters celebrate, then they are not conservativesโthey are extremists masquerading as patriots, and they represent a grave threat to the ideals America claims to stand for.
https://substack.com/@patricemersault