Colorado Politics

Duran: Why we must stand against Trump’s campaign of hate

In less than two months, voters will go to the polls and decide whether the next president of the United States will be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. In the time we have left this election cycle, it’s more urgent than ever to show Trump for what he is: a fear-mongering bully whose election to the presidency would be nothing short of a catastrophe.

If there has been one theme of Trump’s campaign for president, it has been his consistent scapegoating of entire communities of people. In his presidential announcement speech, he set the tone by falsely accusing Mexican immigrants of being rapists, drug dealers and criminals, and it has only gotten worse since then. Trump called for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, breaking families apart and forcibly removing more than 11 million people from their homes and communities. His plan would even deport U.S. citizens. When two Trump supporters badly beat a Latino man in Boston, invoking Trump’s call for “illegals” to “be deported,” Trump responded by saying that his followers are simply “very passionate” people who “want this country to be great again.” He has electrified white supremacists and inspired xenophobic sentiment everywhere from political rallies to elementary school playgrounds. He’s even launched an Islamophobic attack against the parents of a Muslim U.S. soldier killed in Iraq.

Yet throughout his campaign, some Republicans have tried to downplay Trump’s offensive remarks, while others continue to support him. When Donald Trump accused the judge overseeing two of the lawsuits against Trump University of being unable to do his job because of his Mexican heritage, some leaders in the Republican party – such as House Speaker Paul Ryan – tried to characterize the comments as “totally out of left field,” even as they condemned the attack. But Trump’s smears are not at all out of character, or left field, to quote the speaker. This brand of attack has been the very centerpiece of his campaign. That’s why it’s all the more concerning that Republican Senate candidate Darryl Glenn has said he “proudly stand[s] with Donald Trump.”

Trump’s campaign has provided a clear and deeply disturbing picture of what a Trump presidency would look like, and it’s certainly not the America I want to live in. The America I want to live in acknowledges the incredible contributions of immigrants and understands that the rich diversity of our nation is a strength. It’s an America where a judge isn’t told he can’t do his job because of his ethnic heritage. It’s an America that doesn’t demonize Latino communities, Muslims, women, or any other group simply because of who they are. Republicans who support Trump and those who minimize Trump’s comments as “out of left field” are permitting him to continue his campaign of hateful rhetoric, and undermining basic American values like tolerance and pluralism.

With just two months to go in this race, I already know that on Nov. 8, I’m going to be voting against Trump’s hate. Trump’s unbridled bigotry has already done enough damage; in the voting booth, we can make sure that his abhorrent rhetoric and policies never become the guiding force in our politics.

I ran for office because I was frustrated that some voices weren’t being heard in our democracy. But now it’s time to raise our voices, through our words – by condemning Trump’s brand of hate – and through our votes. We have the power to help ensure our priorities become law, rather than the priorities of a xenophobic bully who has jumped at every opportunity to malign our communities. And that’s what we’ll do when we show up on Election Day.


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