That headline probably has you thinking, “you’re just now figuring this out?” but the most egregious hostility from President Trump and his administration in the last week. Trump has emboldened racists to show America their true personalities, which shamefully isn’t necessarily a bad thing because now we know who they are. But during Memorial Day weekend in May 2018, the White House isn’t even being apologetic about white supremacy.
Trump has subtly showed racism before when he invited Navajo code talkers who were instrumental in winning World War II to the White House in November 2017. He “honored” them in front of a portrait of President Andrew Jackson – also known as the “Indian killer” – who signed the Indian Removal Act of 1830. If you thought that might’ve been a gross oversight, completely unintentional, guess again.
That Friday, President Trump gave the commencement address at the Naval Academy where he said, “our ancestors tamed a continent,” and also added “we are not going to apologize for America.” Essentially, Trump is perpetuating the notion that past genocide in the name of America is more than okay. It was our manifest destiny. All those reparations we paid over the years? According to the Trump administration, we shouldn’t have done that. That language is the very definition of white supremacy.
The most shocking admission from the Trump administration on Memorial Day weekend was when a top official for the Department of Health and Human Services, Steven Wagner, lost track of nearly 1,500 illegal migrant children.
That acting assistant secretary at Health and Human Services revealed to a Senate subcommittee that officials at the agency’s Office of Refugee Resettlement attempted to reach 7,635 children and their sponsors last year. The conversations revealed that only 6,075 were still living with their sponsors. That leaves 1,475 missing children.
That leaves 1,475 missing children
What’s even more horrifying than losing a child, let alone nearly 1,500 of them, is that many of those kids are at risk of human trafficking and this exact thing has happened in the past. In fact, those children are targeted for human trafficking and if they can’t find 1,500 children then the likelihood is that the majority of those children have already been kidnapped and sold, because nobody is really looking for them. The Washington Post reported on that same day that some of those human traffickers pose as relatives to those children.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement separate these children – even infants – from their parents when they illegally cross the border. This inhumane policy was implemented by the Trump administration. Yes, it is illegal, and also yes, it is unspeakably inhumane.
Of course, President Trump was caught in two lies when he tweeted about that specific policy that morning.
The Failing @nytimes quotes “a senior White House official,” who doesn’t exist, as saying “even if the meeting were reinstated, holding it on June 12 would be impossible, given the lack of time and the amount of planning needed.” WRONG AGAIN! Use real people, not phony sources.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2018
And this tweet has since been deleted.
“Horrible law” = not a law. It’s Trump administration policy that didn’t happen under Obama or Bush. POTUS has the power to reverse it and Democrats have been pushing him to. https://t.co/TnmrBRGHOL pic.twitter.com/2ST9Pr8ljl
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 26, 2018
Journalists follow strict ethical standards when they follow libel laws. If that person wishes to remain anonymous then it is illegal to reveal their source. There are two demonstrable lies with his statement. One was that separating children from their parents wasn’t his policy, another being that The New York Times lied about someone in his administration revealing that hard truth.
There are two demonstrable lies with his statement
But Yashar Ali of New York Magazine and contributor of the Huffington Post revealed the true identity of that official and also explained why he could do so.
The official is Matt Pottinger who serves on the National Security Council. He briefed dozens of reporters on background. https://t.co/5FUP7t8nYQ
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) May 26, 2018
2. To be clear, the only reason I tweeted Matt’s name is because I’m not a White House reporter and I was not on this call. I do not believe reporters should violate off record or on background agreements under any circumstances. Not my agreement, so I can tweet.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) May 26, 2018
3. BTW a background briefing with the WH press corps is much different than an individual reporters conversation with a source. Even though I know who some reporters sources are, I still wouldn’t out them. That would be unethical. Background briefings aren’t the same thing.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) May 26, 2018
4. I’ve obtained audio of the WH press briefing. You can hear Raj Shah, Deputy Press Secretary, introduce Pottinger (along with the terms – which are standard) and then Pottinger makes the statement that POTUS says was never made. Lots of reporters in briefing room and on phone. pic.twitter.com/2gEYkRSyTv
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) May 26, 2018
The only fathomable reason to justify why the Trump administration would force such an evil policy like separating children from their parents is because of the hope that it would dissuade migrants from crossing the border. As if that this cruelty would spread by word of mouth. That kind of misplaced logic is not only naive its overwhelmingly presumptuous. Destroying lives for crossing the border because it might “possibly” prevent others from doing the same is preposterous. The extraordinary risk that these migrants are taking just to cross the border is already about the survival of their child.
So what is this about?
At a pro-life rally recently President Trump said, “Every unborn child is a precious gift from God.” But what about after birth? Are they still a precious gift from God? And what if they’re black or brown? It’s this kind of thought process that emboldens racists to wear their true colors on their sleeves. And that might not actually be a bad thing because at least we know who they are now.