Believing that the Trump campaign, in having a rally in Tulsa on Juneteenth, has crafted a convoluted dog whistle to signal their support for white supremacy is giving them way too much credit.
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As Justin has reported, President Trump will begin having campaign rallies again, beginning with what is sure to be a wild ride in Tulsa, OK, on Friday, June 19, 2020. Let me begin with this: I am willing to bet all of Jeff Bezos’ wealth that there was exactly one question asked in the meeting where they decided where and when to kick off the campaign again, and it was: “Where will we be allowed and able to assemble a large, energetic crowd of ardent supporters as soon as possible?” The answer to this question, apparently, is Tulsa on Friday, June 19.
You may have noticed that the location and date of this rally have caused an uproar amongst a certain segment of the Twitterverse. They are hysterically claiming this is a white supremacist dog whistle.
Now, not being a white supremacist myself, I had no idea what these people were clamoring about. I read a few rambling explainers and still am not sure how this is anything other than an absent-minded coincidence. Never mind that there doesn’t seem to be any actual white supremacists who hear this so-called dog whistle, this “signal” is far more convoluted than I am willing to give credit to the Trump campaign for creating.
Many may know that June 19th is a cultural holiday known as Juneteenth, which celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation and official end of slavery in the United States. What many people – I’d wager the vast majority of people – do not know is that Tulsa was the sight of a particularly egregious racially motivated massacre in the summer of 1921.
By their own admittance, those who claim Trump’s rally is a dog whistle for white supremacy concede that we don’t teach this event in schools, so almost no one knows about it. Yet, despite this, Stephen Miller and Donald Trump are “clearly” signaling to their white supremacist allies with the date and location of this rally.
It’s true that Mr. Miller has, shall we say, an interesting circle of friends and influences. But for Donald Trump and his team, the key to beating Joe Biden is energizing the base and showing that he, a man in his mid-70s, has more energy and vigor (because he is all about “vigor”) than “Sleepy” Joe Biden, a man in his late-70s.
Kicking off a renewed campaign season with a high energy crowd is just about the only thing they can think of over there in Team Trump. Creating convoluted dog whistles with an obscure historical event that almost no one was taught in school to signal to a small segment of the population that they are with them does not really fit the Trump campaign’s political acumen. After all, this “Death Star team” forgot to update the Republican party platform to not condemn the President they’re trying to get re-elected.
In 2016, Donald Trump contrasted himself with other Republicans running by using pejoratives like “Low Energy Jeb” and “Little Marco” to boost himself. This works well in advertising and, apparently, in modern elections. When facing off against Hillary Clinton, Trump used his size (he is 6’ 2”, over half a foot taller than the 5’ 7” Mrs. Clinton) and general bombastic personality to create the illusion that he was larger than life.
I was recently reminded of his first meeting with Kim Jong Un of North Korea and being impressed with his use of body language and presence to create dominance in the negotiations. For his many faults, Donald Trump knows how to control a room. He is a real Harold Hill.
But, just like Harold Hill, Donald Trump is, in the end, a no-talent conman. Both he and the Resistance and Never Trump crowd need you to believe that he is more than that. That is one of the things #MAGA, #BlueNoMatterWho, and #NeverTrump all have in common: they believe Donald Trump is more than a bumbling buffoon and loser.
Stephen Miller remains a highly problematic figure in the Trump Administration, and ethnic tensions are definitely running high. But the idea that the choice of June 19th at Tulsa for the first of what is sure to be many campaign rallies is anything more than an unfortunate coincidence is utterly ridiculous. If all you hear are dog whistles, you probably need to get your hearing checked out.
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