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My letter to Trump
We cannot address the dangerous spread of white supremacy in America without first assessing its influence on our nation's highest office.
Yesterday afternoon, Donald Trump defended the white supremacists who descended upon Charlottesville this past weekend while insisting there was blame "on both sides." As disturbing as his comments are, they should come as no surprise.
As long as Trump has senior advisors with ties to white nationalist groups, he will never fully condemn racism and bigotry. That's why I wrote a letter to Trump yesterday calling for the removal of three prominent White House aides who are involved with the alt-right: Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka.
By placing these three men in his administration, Trump has elevated hate and discrimination to the highest levels of our government. He has signaled to white supremacists that they are no longer a fringe group – they now have advocates advising the president with their agenda in mind.
We have already seen a manifestation of that agenda, from the Muslim ban and a ban on transgender Americans in the military, to raids on immigrant communities and attempts to perpetuate the era of mass incarceration and roll back voting rights. These policies are a result of the far-right extremist ideology held by Trump's top advisors.
Thank you for joining me in speaking out against white nationalism in the White House.
Onward,
Barbara Lee