OPINION: President Trump’s Tweets Threaten Terrified Muslims

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President Donald Trump has fueled the flames of xenophobia and Islamophobia since the start of his presidential campaign, but recently he has hit an “all-time low” by retweeting not just one, but a series of anti-Muslim propaganda videos created by an British ultra-nationalistic group, Britain Right. This isn’t the first time that he has targeted Muslims. In his campaign in 2015, he called for a complete Muslim ban, and while the complete ban thankfully didn’t happen, once he was elected, President Trump was able to pass a travel ban clearly targeting Muslim countries. He’s also proposed shutting down all mosques in the United States, a clear violation of the first amendment.

In retweeting a group whose members have killed others for a goal of ending immigration, President Trump creates an environment of hate and disrespect for Muslims. By supporting Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, the leaders of the Britain Right party, he supports every single action they have taken against Muslims, which includes multiple accounts of harassment, threats, and abusive behavior. By attempting to provoke the British Muslim population through acts of terror, the party’s leader hopes to prove the falsely labeled stereotypes put on Muslims. Even though a large majority of the British population reject Britain Right due to their Nazi-like behavior, President Trump endorses the stereotypes and hateful behavior, which are also supported by former Ku Klux Klan members.

The impacts of a tweet, in President Trump’s hands, not only become viral, but deadly as his powerful stature in society convinces others to go down to the level that he is at. President Trump spreads clearly altered videos acting as propaganda within his Twitter account, where 20 million and more followers can see videos which had never been seen on mass media. By encouraging anti-Muslim violence, he threatens the lives of over 3.3 million Muslims living in the U.S., who are only trying to survive in a society that has already put multiple heavy stereotypes on their shoulders. President Trump is only making the situation worse by reversing community bonds carefully created by the families who very well know the risks of even looking over the fictional line.

And it’s not only President Trump who has committed the crime of ignorance. Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, also attempted to defend President Trump’s tweets by saying that “Whether or not it is a real video, the threat is real”. While she didn’t spread propaganda videos like President Trump did, she is still spreading the same propagandic message that Muslims are violent terrorists who have no morals whatsoever. This false message, supported only by the weak claim of “supporting national security” creates an excuse for supporting anti-Muslims policies, like President Trump’s Muslim ban proposed back in his campaign last year. By creating an us versus them mindset, President Trump creates a scapegoat on which to blame everything on, and then creates the false facade that the other party mutually agrees. For example, last year in a campaign stop, he claimed that Muslims hated everyone in the U.S. in a “unbelievable” manner for no reason, creating the idea of a naturally evil race.

Instead of blaming mass political failure on a group that had minimal impact in Congress, President Trump should spend his energy and time passing useful laws and regulations that can be used to help others. For example, he could increase focus on education, which has a greater, and a more positive impact, than a travel ban. By using his energy to target different minority groups, including Muslims, he distracts us from evolving into a better developed nation. When the news is filled with President Trump’s latest Twitter update, instead of actual policies, we have to question the true motive behind this president. If he wants to be a realistic and reliable president, with a positive legacy, President Trump should take a break from social media and enter the real world of politics. The real world, and the people in it, can’t be contained in 280 characters.