If Donald Trump is a racist...

[RR1997]

...then why does he have a great relationship with the blacks? He states this back in 2011. DT is many things, but racist is not one of them. I'm really confused Why would a racist have a great relationship with the blacks? Can someone please answer and explain this to me? Thanks!

[Clark Kent]

You're kidding, right? "The blacks" are not a monolithic group, and Trump is obviously a racist.

[Bigby]

I am going to play a strange version of devil's advocate. Trump could be not racist towards blacks but racist to another group.

[An American Tail: Fubart Goes West]

Obvious troll post?

[Maxwell]

You're kidding, right? "The blacks" are not a monolithic group, and Trump is obviously a racist.

[RR1997]

I am going to play a strange version of devil's advocate. Trump could be not racist towards blacks but racist to another group.

Then why does Trump have a great relationship with the Mexicans as well? Why would a racist have a great relationship with the Mexicans and the blacks? Why would Mexicans love DT (and why would he love them back) if he were really a racist? DT just has a great relationship with so many people. I'm really confused right now . How's he racist? These are questions that must be asked.

[Abraham Reagan]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

[Fuzzy Bear]

The word "racist" is thrown around improperly.  What "racism" really means is the belief in the superiority of one race over another.  Theodore Bilbo comparing blacks to monkeys on the Senate floor is an example of the worst sort of racism; I use it to illustrate the point.

Donald Trump has worked at the highest level of multicultural business one can work at.  His businesses are international businesses, where he has interacted with all sorts of cultures, and no one would have used "racist" to describe Donald Trump before his comments on illegal immigrants from Mexico.

What Trump was referring to in his comments is the problems of transnational gangs that go back and forth between Mexico and the US, and consist of criminals that routinely enter the US, sometimes going back and forth between the US and their country of origin.  These are the folks who commit rapes, and engage in human trafficking, as well as drug trafficking.  These are the folks that provide muscle for foreign drug cartels within the United States.  And they are allowed to do what they do, to go from their country to the US, in some cases back and forth, because our border is ridiculously porous.  

The real problem with illegal immigration isn't some guy working at a dishwashing or janitor job off the books that an American could possibly full; it's the real threat to public safety brought on by persons actively engaged in criminal enterprises going back and forth across the border:

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/multiamerican/2014/07/16/17018/transnational-gangs-how-the-central-american-migra/

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2012/1012/MS-13-gang-labeled-transnational-criminal-group-a-first-for-US-street-gang

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/july/the-transnational-gang-threat-part-1-joining-forces-to-meet-the-challenge/the-transnational-gang-threat-part-1-joining-forces-to-meet-the-challenge

Is it "racist" to point out the threat to public safety transnational gangs pose?  Is it "xenophobic" to be concerned about the ease at which these criminals, who are not seeking the American Dream, but perpetuating an American Nightmare, enter our country, and (even more alarmingly) go back and forth between the US and their countries of origin?

On border security, Donald Trump gets it.  That's not racism.  That's not xenophobia.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The word "racist" is thrown around improperly.  What "racism" really means is the belief in the superiority of one race over another.  Theodore Bilbo comparing blacks to monkeys on the Senate floor is an example of the worst sort of racism; I use it to illustrate the point.

Racist is underused by Republicans, and overused by people who use the terms "white privilege" and "whitesplaining".

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Not every racist is racist against every group. I see relatively little evidence that Trump is racist against black people, and tons to indicate that his nativist views make him racist against Latinos.

[ag]

...then why does he have a great relationship with the blacks? He states this back in 2011.

Are "the blacks" aware of this?

[SteveRogers]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

Wow, that's not at all how racism works.

[Abraham Reagan]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

Wow, that's not at all how racism works.

That's actually exactly how racism works. Unless Donald Trump is claiming that the white race is superior, then you can only speculate what his true motives are. Prejudice might be a different story, but that's a different thing entirely.

[RR1997]

"India is a great country. I love Indians because they are amazing people. I have a great relationship with the people from India. I know many of them so closely because they like to live in Trump Towers in New York City and other places,” Trump told an Indian magazine last year.


You hear that guys, I have a great relationship with Donald Trump too (since I'm of Asian-Indian descent)!

[Mr. Smith]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

Strom Thurmond says hi.

[RR1997]

Hey dudeabides, I was thinking of voting for Jeb Bush, but now I'm going to vote for Trump. I literally have a great relationship with him, and I've never even met him before! Would I really not vote for someone who has a great relationship with me? Let's discuss this.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

Strom Thurmond says hi.

Thurmond . . . had a secret.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/us/essie-mae-washington-williams-secret-child-of-famous-father-dies-at-87.html?_r=0

[Thunderbird is the word]

He may or may not be a racist in his heart but in effect he clearly is as he has no problem pandering to racists.

[SteveRogers]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

Wow, that's not at all how racism works.

That's actually exactly how racism works. Unless Donald Trump is claiming that the white race is superior, then you can only speculate what his true motives are. Prejudice might be a different story, but that's a different thing entirely.

Many, many, many horrible racists do not wear their racism openly on their sleeve in their day to day life.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Of course a Trump ain't racist against blacks! Only the Blaxicans truly have a poor relationship with him.

[Abraham Reagan]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

Wow, that's not at all how racism works.

That's actually exactly how racism works. Unless Donald Trump is claiming that the white race is superior, then you can only speculate what his true motives are. Prejudice might be a different story, but that's a different thing entirely.

Many, many, many horrible racists do not wear their racism openly on their sleeve in their day to day life.

Look, my point is that Donald Trump doesn't talk about race, and to make the leap from his policy positions to racism even though they aren't centered on race is in effect making a judgement call on him that you aren't in a position to make.

[Maxwell]

The main issues Trump emphasizes and has made the centerpiece of his campaign have everything to do with race. He wants to take it to immigrants (damn hispanics), take it to ISIS (damn arabs), and take it to China (damn asians). Those are the biggest issues in his mind, ask him about anything else he will answer but he will move back on to those topics. Do you guys think that is pure coincidence?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Real racists openly and proudly claim to be racist - ex: KKK, Black Panthers, American Nazis.
Calling someone racist due to disagreement with policy and over-sensitivity, while that person never claims to be racist, is a dangerous thing, because you're actually saying you know the content of that person's heart and mind. No one can make that judgement besides Donald himself.

Wow, that's not at all how racism works.

That's actually exactly how racism works. Unless Donald Trump is claiming that the white race is superior, then you can only speculate what his true motives are. Prejudice might be a different story, but that's a different thing entirely.

Many, many, many horrible racists do not wear their racism openly on their sleeve in their day to day life.

There is a difference between racism and racial prejudices.  Most people, whether they admit it or not, have some sort of racial/ethnic prejudices that they pick up from their own lives.  Part of being a functional human being and a fair human being often means recognizing these biases and challenging them internally, in order to act on fact and principle rather than bias and emotion.  That people don't display this is evidence of civility, and of attempts to practice the principle of fairness in everyday lives.

Racism is an ideology, and something folks just have to share, because of the burning urgency that particular ideology brings.  Think of the sense of urgency white Southerners, who had been conditioned to believe that black folks were flat-out inferior and that was that, felt when confronted with SCOTUS orders to integrate schools.  There's a world of difference from having pre-conceived ideas, which one can either change or (at a minimum) not act upon them, and acting out frantically due to the intense fear based on an ideology of racism.  

[Abraham Reagan]

The main issues Trump emphasizes and has made the centerpiece of his campaign have everything to do with race. He wants to take it to immigrants (damn hispanics), take it to ISIS (damn arabs), and take it to China (damn asians). Those are the biggest issues in his mind, ask him about anything else he will answer but he will move back on to those topics. Do you guys think that is pure coincidence?

I hope you're joking because if  wanting to crack down on illegal immigration, take the fight to ISIS, and defend American trade interests makes someone a racist, then most Americans are racist. I love how YOU make those leaps between his positions and racism and then act like they're some undeniable truth.

[Beezer]

What about the gays? Does he have a great relationship with them as well?