Is Trump racist?

[SteveRogers]

Obviously it's just for show.

Doesn't matter. It does not matter if he honestly believes in his heart the things that he is saying. If you go around actively stoking the flames of hatred among people who definitely do believe those things, then you are responsible for the result, and you are a racist. If you go around scapegoating another race for your own personal gain, then you are a racist regardless of whether you believe the stereotypes you are peddling. Who cares what Donald Trump actually believes?

[SteveRogers]

Of course he is.  Probably grew up listening to his fathers and grandfathers rant about the Blacks or the Puerto Ricans or the Jews or the Irish or Italians.

That would make him racist against other white people.

And?

[SteveRogers]

To everyone saying, "No, he just pretends to be," can you explain how that makes it less racist? When you denigrate another race for your benefit at their expense, it's racism regardless of whether you're doing out of sincerely held beliefs or out of opportunism.

And yes, I know Islam is a religion and not a race, but it's highly correlated with race, and Trump is seizing on a sense of "otherness" to stoke the flames of hatred and scapegoat a group of people because they look different than his supporters. I guess it'd be more accurate to call him a bigot, but I'm not gonna split hairs here.

[SteveRogers]

To everyone saying, "No, he just pretends to be," can you explain how that makes it less racist? When you denigrate another race for your benefit at their expense, it's racism regardless of whether you're doing out of sincerely held beliefs or out of opportunism.

And yes, I know Islam is a religion and not a race, but it's highly correlated with race, and Trump is seizing on a sense of "otherness" to stoke the flames of hatred and scapegoat a group of people because they look different than his supporters. I guess it'd be more accurate to call him a bigot, but I'm not gonna split hairs here.

This is kind of what I'm trying to understand.
You have this vague boilerplate "otherness", "stoke the flames of hatred" based on nothing or very little and than you jump to yelling "racist".

How do you make that jump?

Example:
Trump says : illegal immigration is a problem, it causes a lot of harm, we need to fix it.
'Jumpers' say: Trump is a racist, he hates Mexicans, and he's ginning up blind hatred of others.

...doesn't your brain consider other responses?  I mean that is so non linear, unless that is your response to everything you disagree with. 
 

You have to look at Trump's statements in context and as a whole. Trump paints all Mexican immigrants with a broad brush, claiming that they are by and large rapists and murderers. And he says that children of immigrants aren't real Americans regardless of what the 14th Amendment says. And he hints that all of his opponents with hispanic surnames are ineligible to be president. When you put all that together, yes, you can infer a motive.

But I was focusing on his "ban all muslims" platform. He wants to impose a religious test for travel to America, a blanket ban of all those who practice Islam. Throughout human history pretty much anyone who has painted a billion people with a broad brush like that has been a racist.

[SteveRogers]

To everyone saying, "No, he just pretends to be," can you explain how that makes it less racist? When you denigrate another race for your benefit at their expense, it's racism regardless of whether you're doing out of sincerely held beliefs or out of opportunism.

And yes, I know Islam is a religion and not a race, but it's highly correlated with race, and Trump is seizing on a sense of "otherness" to stoke the flames of hatred and scapegoat a group of people because they look different than his supporters. I guess it'd be more accurate to call him a bigot, but I'm not gonna split hairs here.

If I believe in climate change, but want to be a Republican politician and say I don't believe in climate change, does that mean I really don't believe in it?

I'm not saying it makes it any less despicable that he's pandering to racists for votes. I thought this thread was solely about his personal views, not his morality.

But see I think you have to have real evil in your heart to treat a group of people that way, regardless of whether you believe your professed reasons for doing so. And he's doing it on the basis of race. So he's a racist.