By: Angie Teig
Did Donald Trump really make America great again?
America now consists of two nations: one that believes in cultural unity and one that does not. Systematic racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry have plagued the country since its founding. Between 2016 and 2018, the number of hate groups in the U.S. has risen from 917 to 1020. This outright hostility can be traced directly to Donald Trump’s bigoted 2016 presidential campaign, which has caused division in the United States.
Throughout his 2016 election campaign, Donald Trump expanded his supporter base with a continuous emphasis on anti-immigrant policies––ultimately sparking a divide as well as a nationwide argument on whether, in fact, a wall on the Mexican border was ethical. In response to the ongoing immigration crisis, a Trump supporter said, “What would solve the whole thing at the [Mexican] border is if they would just start shootin’ them.” The demonstration of bigotry from Trump and his supporters shocked many Americans and brought them to protest. In addition to Trump’s anti-immigrant comments sparking much controversy, they also commenced an unprecedented amount of division in the United States.
Following Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election, Democrats and Republicans, figuratively, parted into two separate nations. Inevitably, tensions soared in 2017 after the deadly Unite the Right riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, heavily increasing this divide. During the riot, white supremacists gathered to protest the removal of a Confederate statue. As counter-protesters showed up to the scene, a white supremacist driver intentionally drove through the crowd, killing one counter-protestor. Trump’s response to this was, “you also had some very fine people on both sides.” Many Americans were disappointed in Trump’s belief that the white supremacists were “fine people.” Further dividing the country, such occurrences of discrimination continued throughout Trump’s days in office.
As Trump’s presidency was nearing its end in 2020, his failure to protect citizens from COVID-19 further contributed to the United States’ polarization. The carelessness of his actions led many of his followers to believe that masks are not useful. ‘Anti-maskers’ plagued the United States. Several right-wing protests took place against lockdowns and mask mandates. In opposition, many Democrats advocated for mask-wearing and social distancing. The governor of North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper, said “the refusal to wear a mask is selfish [and defies] basic decency and common sense. Either wear one or don’t go in the store.” As an anti-masker movement took hold across the United States, those in support of masks expressed frustration and polarization from those who chose to endanger themselves, as well as others.
The presidential election in November of 2020 saw a nationwide urgency to vote. The most liberal generation, Generation Z, heavily used the social media app TikTok to express their political opinions. Many Gen Z TikTokers encouraged those who were 18 and older to vote for Biden. Any who encouraged Trump’s reelection were generally “called out” with hostility. Hence, as a result of Trump’s failure to appeal for unity amongst liberals and conservatives, the year of 2020 was another year of division. Showing his complete disinterest in unity, when Kamala Harris was announced as Biden’s pick for Vice President, Trump called her a “nasty woman.” With the strong influence of social media, politically active Gen Zers attacked anyone who expressed opposing beliefs. As Trump did little to help improve this situation, America continues to stand as a divided nation.
Trump’s divided America has fostered an environment where friendships now depend on one’s political stance. Americans are struggling to find common ground and are assuming the worst of one another due to their political beliefs, race, gender, or sexuality. Trump’s hateful remarks and inability to keep a nation unified has turned America into a divided nation with an ever increasing number of hate crimes. Only when American citizens are able to put political hatred aside can we establish national unity and pride. Until then, Trump and his followers’ acts of bigotry will continue to cause a significant amount of hostility and divide conservatives and liberals.
45th President of the United States, Donald Trump
In recent years, hate crimes have risen
https://www.statista.com/chart/16100/total-number-of-hate-crime-incidents-recorded-by-the-fbi/
