The extremism of Donald Trump’s Republican Party will be on full display from the start of proceedings today (chaotic rules fight and Nazi accusations anyone?) in Cleveland. Though Trump will only be speaking briefly to introduce his current wife, there’s no doubt that his anti-choice, anti-LGBT, anti-immigrant rhetoric will be peppered throughout the speakers’ remarks.
Oh, and Scott Baio will be here too.
Monday night’s “theme” at the Trump convention is “Make America Safe Again”. Trump’s plan to get there includes statements such as: “I love war.” “I would bomb the sh*t out of them.” “I think there’s too much diplomacy.” “I know more about ISIS than the generals do — believe me.” “I’m good at war.” “We have nuclear capabilities, I’m not going to take it off the table.”
Sounds like a well-reasoned road map to strengthen our country.
Donald Trump somehow expects to use his convention to convince voters that he can lead the country with a pragmatic and stable foreign policy doctrine grounded in rationality and diplomacy.
The Trump Doctrine spurns diplomatic compromise as weak, alienates allies, and celebrates torture. Just look at who Trump admires or has tried to do business with: Kim Jong-Un, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and Vladimir Putin.
Donald Trump thinks watching the Sunday shows and “speaking with [him]self” (because he has a very good brain) qualifies him to lead the country, but the reality is Trump is fundamentally unfit to be commander in chief. Electing Trump wouldn’t “Make America Safe Again”, it would make us more unsafe and unstable than at any point in our history.
Here’s a quick rundown of Trump National Convention speakers today:
- Mary Fallin, in her capacity as co-chair of the platform committee delivered remarks on the most radically conservative GOP platform in decades. Fallin is no stranger to extremism, having signed 18 anti-choice laws–including restricting access to emergency contraception, abortion bans with no exceptions for rape or incest, and attempted defunding of Planned Parenthood. Fallin’s right-wing extremism isn’t limited to anti-choice activism: As governor, Fallin ordered the Oklahoma National Guard to stop processing all military spousal benefit applications rather than allowing them from same-sex spouses.
Oklahoma’s governor is in lock-step with Trump’s anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric as well. She supported Arizona’s “Papers Please” law and is an advocate for building a border wall, presumably paid for by Mexico, of course. Fear mongering against people of the Muslim faith is also familiar to Fallin; she supported legislation which would ban “foreign law” (read: Sharia law) from being used in Oklahoma.
- Milwaukee County sheriff and Fox News favorite David Clarke Jr. will take the stage after big name Hollywood stars Willie Robertson and Antonio Sabato Jr. If anyone at the convention can rival Trump’s hateful rhetoric, it’s Sheriff Clarke. It’s difficult to tell if Clarke hates Muslims–all of whom he believes share a common ideology with ISIS–or Black Lives Matter activists more, but he doesn’t see an important distinction between the two as it’s only a matter of time before ISIS and “Black LIES Matter” team up.
- Colorado Senate candidate Darryl Glenn is a newcomer on the national political stage. What Glenn lacks in political experience, he makes up for in sharing Trump’s us-versus-them mentality. Glenn claimed that bipartisanship “exemplifies what’s wrong with America.” Glenn is also in-sync with Trump on policy issues, agreeing that religion should be a factor in screening potential immigrants.
- Arkansas’s junior U.S. Senator Tom Cotton is a long-time Trump apologist, having argued that Trump’s objectionable statements are “just words”. Cotton is also on team “Build that wall“, and–in a sentence once thought inconceivable–actually wants to go further than Trump on immigration by proposing new restrictions on legal immigration.
Cotton is an interesting choice to feature on “Make America Safe Again” night as his assertion that a successful military operation against Iran would only take “several days” demonstrates an understanding of foreign policy that is even less robust than Trump’s own.
- It wouldn’t be Make America Safe Again night without an appearance from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Sheriff Clarke’s anti-Muslim, anti-Black Lives Matter tirade may get a run for its money from the former mayor. After the events of September 11th, 2001, President George W. Bush reminded the nation that “Islam is peace.” Giuliani–New York City’s mayor at the time– apparently didn’t take the message to heart; he has been a long-time advocate of spying on Muslims in their places of worship. And don’t even get him started on BLM, a group he’s described as “inherently racist” and “anti-American“.
- As the first night of the Trump National Convention draws to a (merciful) close, Iowa’s U.S. Senator Joni Ernst will deliver her remarks. Ernst was seriously considered for the role of Trump’s vice-president, and it’s clear why. Ernst is radically anti-choice, voting against Medicaid coverage for abortion in the case of rape, incest, or fetal anomaly. Ernst also fought to defund Planned Parenthood, claiming that their, “blatant disregard for human life is on full display.”
It wouldn’t be fair for delegates that couldn’t make Alex Jones and Roger Stone’s event to go home without some conspiracy theorizing, so maybe Senator Ernst will muse on the United Nations “Agenda 21”, which she believes will strip private property rights to promote environmental protection laws.
Donald Trump may only be briefly speaking on Monday night, but the dangerous extremism his candidacy has emboldened within the GOP will be on full display (for whatever delegates have actually stuck around). More on tonight’s Trump convention speakers’ extreme positions here.
Published: Jul 18, 2016 | Last Modified: Feb 7, 2024