"President Trump made tokens of his minority guests, which underscored the point that he doesn't quite consider nonwhite people to be on a par with white Americans. Corey Adams, a black welder, was brought out as cover for the tax cut his employers at Staub Manufacturing Solutions in Dayton, Ohio, received under the Republicans' tax plan.
"Mr. Adams was in fact a reminder that working-class black people could reap minuscule benefits from tax cuts that will largely make the rich richer. But that's not all: President Trump also needed to tell us that Mr. Adams was an 'all-American worker' to assure his xenophobic base that Mr. Adams couldn't possibly hail from somewhere else.
"President Trump also introduced us to Celestino Martinez, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who led an operation on Long Island to track down gang members, including members of MS-13. Mr. Trump introduced Mr. Martinez right after saying, 'Americans are dreamers, too,' to insult recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and illustrate that his American dream, instead of meaning the freedom to seek refuge on our shores and work toward a satisfying future, is based on arresting gang members. To make a Latino the face of ICE is a wink to Mr. Trump's base. It also says that Latinos can be trusted to follow the Trump agenda and throw people who look like them out of the country if they need to.
"The most egregious case of tokenism was that of Evelyn Rodriguez and Freddy Cuevas, a couple whose daughter, Kayla Cuevas, was killed by MS-13 gang members on Long Island in 2016. Three days ago, Ms. Rodriguez said in an interview that she was happy to be invited to attend the State of the Union address but that her attendance wasn't about immigration.
"'I want him to ensure that we're going to get the proper funding for the resources for our kids,' she said. 'I'm not here for anyone's political gain.' She added, 'Everyone has the right to the American dream, and that should be there for them.'
"President Trump ignored Ms. Rodriguez's wishes. He pointed the couple out, claimed that bad immigration policy allowed the members of MS-13 who killed their daughter to come into the country and asked Congress to close 'deadly' immigration loopholes that he blamed for her death. He used Ms. Rodriguez's pain to call for policies that she opposes."
Kashana Curley opened her essay with what President Trump had told reporters would be the theme of his speech: American unity.
"Before his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump invited news correspondents to the White House, where he told them, 'I would like to see the country united.' But hours later, he gave a speech meant to rally only part of the country.
"He complimented coal and welding in a love letter to the white working classes of Appalachia and the Midwest. By admonishing people who don't stand for the national anthem, he reminded us that as president, he has picked fights with black N.F.L. players protesting police brutality. He repeatedly disparaged nonwhite people during his speech.
"Instead of unifying the country, President Trump made it clear, yet again, that he supports only white Americans -- to hell with everyone else."
After listing "token" minorities that were on President Trump's guest list, Curley concluded:
"President Trump's message is clear: Acceptable minorities work as ICE agents, help their employers take advantage of tax breaks and serve as visible reminders that people are killed by immigrants and foreigners.
"This fatalist, white nationalist view of the world is a reminder that if Tuesday night was about unity, Mr. Trump cares to unite only white Americans."
Harsh words, but appropriate to the occasion. It also important to remember that the cheers and applause for the President's speech came from congressional members of his party.
What exactly does that tell us about the state of our union?
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
