And I wonder, you know, between the crime, especially in the cities, immigration, the border, what's going on overseas at the moment, did you ever think you would see this level of "American carnage"?
Trump responded in part (emphasis, Snopes)
No, nobody has ever seen anything like this. And I think we
could say worldwide. I think you could go to the... you could go to a banana
republic and pick the worst one, and you're not going to see what we're
witnessing now. No control whatsoever. Nobody has any idea where these people
are coming from, and we know they come from prisons. We know they come from
mental institutions [and] insane asylums. We know they're terrorists. Nobody
has ever seen anything like we're witnessing right now. It is a very sad thing
for our country. It's poisoning the blood of our country. It's so bad, and
people are coming in with disease. People are coming in with every possible
thing that you could have.
Snopes flags six passages in Adolph Hitler's infamous Mein Kampf in which the world's worst-of-all-time (WOAT) fascist invoked the same theme; "poison of foreign races;" "poisonous fluid" seemingly "injected by some mysterious hand into the bloodstream of this once heroic body;" "poison which was allowed to enter the nation's bloodstream;" "poisons the blood;" and "poison of miscegenation." However, in the closest parallel
the poison which has invaded the national body, especially since the Thirty Years' War, has destroyed the uniform constitution not only of our blood but also of our national soul. The open frontiers of our native country, the association with non-German foreign elements in the territories that lie all along those frontiers, and especially the strong influx of foreign blood into the interior of the Reich itself, has prevented any complete assimilation of those various elements, because the influx has continued steadily.
When Donald Trump says "these people," he's not referring to a few among many, but to all immigrants who are "poisoning the blood of our country (and) coming in with disease," he is presaging the fascist state he intents to construct if again elected President.
He is also exhibiting something though a little less dangerous, yet worth noting. When Donald Trump remarks "it's poisoning the blood of our country, " he's not speaking of history or culture, not of nurture but of nature. It's reminiscent of Trump's alleged comment, reported in July 2016, which had appeared in a 1991 book written by John O'Donnell. O'Donnell had been Chief Operating Officer of Trump Plaza casino and recounted a conversation he had with Trump which included
I couldn't believe I was hearing this. But Donald went on "Besides this, I've got to tell you something else. I think that the guy is lazy. And it's probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It's not anything they can control.... Don't you agree?" He looked me square in the eye and waited for my reply.
We are accustomed in the USA circa 2023 of accusations of "racism," usually invoked by the left but sometimes by the center and occasionally by the right. The term shouldn't be tossed around like styrofoam but more like a manhole cover. Not all- not even most- bigotry or prejudice is racism, which has its root in a belief in one's superiority or inferiority by dint of their birth. That is what Donald J. Trump and Adolph Hitler have meant by 'blood."
We've undermined the significance of "racism" while dumbing down its significance. In so doing, we underappreciate the malevolence of racism when it emerges. When Donald Trump exhibits racism, it should not be a one-day story or lost in the avalanche of "crazy" or "offensive" or even cruel statements he makes.
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