Trump Switching Language on Refugees and Muslims
BY: Andrew Hansen/Contributing Writer
On Monday, Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, made a switch in his seemingly prejudiced language towards Muslims, refugees, and the entirety of the Arab region. On the popular Fox News segment Hannity, Trump responded to the recent attacks in Germany by a Syrian refugee, saying, “People don’t want me to say Muslim. I guess I prefer not saying it, frankly, myself.”
After receiving very harsh criticism regarding his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country, Trump has now stated that he will now substitute the word ‘Muslims’ to ‘territories’. This suggests that instead of banning all Muslims from entering the United States he will ban people from specific territories, countries, or regions that have alleged terrorist connections.
However, this switch in language is not to be mistaken for an attempt to be politically correct or sympathetic towards Muslims or refugees. Trump remains clear that allowing more Syrian refugees into the U.S. is a serious mistake. In fact, Trump called America’s current leaders – as well as those of other countries who sponsor refugees – “stupid people” who contain or have at least proposed refugee programs.
Trump has essentially blamed the governments of these countries that have allowed refugees in for the attacks. According to Trump, the governments who allow refugees from the Arab world to enter their countries are responsible for putting their citizens safety in jeopardy. If Trump were to have it his way, all refugees, including the 99.9% who do not support or wish to enact any sort of violence on others, should be banned from entering the U.S.
Yet, while Trump has reiterated his belief that anyone from certain Arab or Muslim territories should be banned from entering the United States, he has left himself open to a major contradiction regarding his other political stances.
Trump is a candidate that has received popularity and support by going against the traditional politicians who have run for the presidency. He says he will always speak the truth to his people, regardless of how others may feel. One key way Trump perpetuates this image of having a ‘rogue American’ voice is by attacking the media for trying to distort his messages. Trump has frequently suggested that because the media doesn’t appreciate what he has to say and how he says it, they put him in a negative light. But without the media, Trump’s flawed stance on refugees and terrorism would be weightless.
In other words, Trump’s ideology is dangerous because of how he manipulates the media’s coverage on isolated events, like the attacks in Germany and France, to push his political agenda. While horrible and daunting, these recent strings of attacks are extremely rare, and almost never carried out by refugees.
For example, when considering the millions of Syrian refugees who are currently seeking refuge in Germany, Trump has used the actions of two mentally unstable people to speak for millions of other innocent people who happen to come from the same place.
The danger lies when the media covers one of these attacks to the extent that people start to believe they may be vulnerable, thus leading them to sympathize with hardline messages, such as those perpetuated by Trump. The presidential candidate has contradicted himself in a threatening way that could further jeopardize the possibility of safety for millions of refugees worldwide.