By: Kayla Pasacreta

Since last week’s incident in Charlottesville, there have been a gazillion think pieces, tweets, and statements from people condemning Donald Trump. It’s almost like it’s a lot of people’s first time realizing that Donald Trump is a hardcore racist-sympathizer, misogynist, piece of…I’ll let you finish the rest. I’m happy that the horror in Charlottesville finally woke some people up to the glaring truth that the man serving in the Oval Office is a threat to progress. But, I can’t help but ask myself: y’all are seriously just now realizing this? Donald Trump has showed his true colors since June 16, 2015, the day he announced his presidential bid.

Donald Trump’s influence has been filled with a lot of racial rhetoric – sometimes subtle, sometimes too obvious to ignore. A simple dissection of the campaign promise to “Make America Great Again” should be enough to understand what makes Trump so complicated and seriously problematic. Just picture it: white men wearing these God awful-too bright of a red trucker hats, who feel isolated after 8 years of black president and a surge of diversity of inclusivity, chanting ‘Make America Great Again’. Sounds a lot like a rallying call to restore whiteness in the country, no? 

Only July 15, 2015, Trump stated, “Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists…” Not only did Trump play into the damaging, misleading rhetoric about violence tied to immigration, he clearly used language largely based on stereotypes. For people who aren’t heavy into research (aka, a lot of Trump’s base), this sentence was all they needed to hear to agree Mexican immigration was a problem.

There are too many outrageous things Trump has done, so I’ll just list a few of them:

• Publicly questioned Barack Obama’s American citizenship, largely leading the “birther movement”.
•  In an interview with Billy Bush, spoke of women saying, “You have to grab them by the p---y….And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
• Called for the death of the Central Park Five, who were proven not guilty for the rape and assault of a white woman in Central Park 
• Took long AF to disavow KKK leader David Duke, who publicly supported him. Also note here that KKK leader LOVES Donald Trump.
• In a speech questioning what black voters have to lose by voting for him, stated: “You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good..” 
• At a campaign rally, referred to a black supporter in the audience as “my African-American over there.” 
• Falsely equated Islam with violence, even stating, “I think Islam hates us.” 
• Called Barack Obama the founder of ISIS
• Hired the guy who called his website a platform for the alt-right as chief strategist in the White House

Donald Trump has literally been showing us exactly who he is. Seriously, the receipts go on for days. 

However, for some reason, after Trump’s predictably weak-response to the white supremacy and racism exhibited in Charlottesville, a bunch of Republican leaders came forward with some tough words for Trump.  Paul Ryan stated, "We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity.” Sure, the words looked good on paper, but in reality, they hold no value. Paul Ryan, Orrin Hatch, and countless other Republicans who supported Trump’s presidential bid are now rushing to condemn his damaging rhetoric, like it’s a new thing. Newsflash: it’s not new at all.

Unfortunately, I’m no longer surprised when Donald Trump makes childish Twitter rants, gives a platform to racists, refuses to disavow racists, or just outright doesn’t exemplify presidential behavior.

You shouldn’t be surprised either. Trump has never shielded who he is or what he believes in. He hasn’t tried to hide his true character or let us think he’s someone he’s not. But still, so many in this country have still backed him. Many Republicans have put party over country, playing a dangerous game of blindly-following-the-leader in hopes of making progress for their party. It’s not working. Trump has passed zero major legislation in office. I won't forget that countless Republicans have failed time and time again to hold Trump accountable for his bigotry, and I hope you don't either when it's time for midterm elections. Statements condemning the President for being soft on racism when Trump has been this way the entire time and these lawmakers still supported him literally mean nothing.