‘Not All Trump Supporters Voted for Racist Reasons’ but Here’s What They Did Do

by Elizabeth Jaikaran

Just a week ago, a man who has managed to offend and threaten many American minorities was elected to lead the free world. Each day since then, the country’s most vulnerable groups have engaged in a deserved collective mourning in hopes of achieving collective healing.

Many have taken to social media to voice their anger, sadness, and fears, while many have receded into the shadows to process what the consequences of this election will mean for their safety, or lack thereof.

[Read Related: “After the Election I Will Grieve, But I Will Also Heal“]

1. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate who was openly racist.

In addition to his numerous racist sound bytes during the course of his campaign, Trump has actually been sued by the Justice Department for refusing to rent apartments to black people. He has consistently deflected discussion of these lawsuits by proffering that the claims were settled.

2. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate whose very campaign was built on xenophobic rhetoric.

Since June 2015, Trump has gone on and on about building a wall along the southern border in order to inhibit Mexican migration.

3. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate who stereotyped Mexican immigrants as “drug dealers” and “rapists.”

In his 2015 Presidential announcement speech, Trump said:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

[Read Related: “American Muslim Women: Your Vote Mattered“]

4. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate who proposed a ban on Muslim immigration and condoned a registration system for Muslims living in the United States.

At a rally in Charleston, South Carolina in December 2015, he roared to thousands of cheering attendees:

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.”

5. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate who is unapologetic about his homophobic and transphobic ideals.

In an interview with Bill O’Reilly on FOX News, when asked about his views on gay marriage Trump explained:

“I just don’t feel good about it…I don’t feel right about it. I’m against it, and I take a lot of heat because I come from New York. You know, for New York it’s like, how can you be against gay marriage? But I’m opposed to gay marriage.”

He also bizarrely compared gay marriage to golf putters in a New York Times profile.

“It’s like in golf. A lot of people — I don’t want this to sound trivial — but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.”

6. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate who was uninhibitedly misogynistic.

There’s just too much quotable material in this realm. From deploring women as unattractive to calling a woman “disgusting” for needing a break to breastfeed, Trump is the superlative of sexism.

7. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate who dismissed sexual assault as “locker room talk.”

[Photo Source/Pinterest]

8. 100% of them cast their vote for a candidate who is endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan.

In fact, a KKK leader in Virginia told a news reporter that: 

“The reason a lot of Klan members like Donald Trump is because a lot of what he believes, we believe in.”

9. 100% of them decided that all of the above was acceptable. Acceptable enough for them to cast their vote in his favor.

10. ZERO percent of them get to avoid accountability for his election or demand an iota of respectability or understanding. 

Elizabeth Jaikaran is a freelance writer based in New York. She graduated from The City College of New York with her B.A. in 2012, and from New York University School of Law in 2016. She is interested in theories of gender politics and enjoys exploring the intersection of international law and social consciousness. When she’s not writing, she enjoys celebrating small joys with her friends and binge-watching juicy serial dramas with her husband. Her first book, “Trauma,” will be published by Shanti Arts in 2017.