WHAT DID DONALD TRUMP ACTUALLY SAY?
Is how we say something more important than what we say?
Does the symbolism of ones words hold higher value than the substance of those words?
Has something you've said been taken out of context and used against you?
As a society we have been evolving, or need I say devolving into a period where one misspoken word or misinterpreted statement, can lead to a ferocious backlash, where one could stand to lose their career, business, or reputation.
Case in point, Donald Trump. On June 16, in the main lobby of the Trump Tower, Donald Trump announced that he was running for the Presidency of the United States. It was after a particular segment of his speech that the firestorm erupted, creating a frenzy amongst a certain segment or our population. One that has cost him monetarily, but one that has catapulted him to the top of the Republican field.
Soon after his announcement, Trump was fired by NBC, Macy's cut their ties with Trump, and so did companies such as Serta, Nascar, ESPN, the PGA, and a slew of other corporations, to even include a review of all contractual agreements between Trump and New York City.
Now deemed a racist, a bigot, and hater of Mexican immigrants by the national media, Trump finds himself in the cross hairs of a relentless pursuit to destroy his name, candidacy, and reputation.
It leaves you to ask yourself: What ever happened to Freedom of Speech?
We will look at the words that he said and analyze those words in the full context of his speech. My goal is to show that Trump did not call all Mexicans rapists, drug dealers, or criminals, but was pointing out the issues that are taking place at the border.
So what is it that he actually said that caused this backlash?
Here is the portion of the speech that started this controversy:
Here is the portion of the speech that started this controversy:
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you, they're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume are good people". (Trump)
To the low information voter, this might seem like a slam dunk. The term low information voter, brought into the main stream in 2008 by radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, are people that "don't know what they think they know. They are prisoners to the media, which has dumbed them down". (Limbaugh)
If one was to hear that clip on a radio show or view it on a news cast, as millions of people have, how does one process what is being said? As an immigrant, either legal or illegal, or a person of Hispanic ethnicity, you would probably focus on the words Mexico, drugs, crime, and rapist. Putting them together, Donald Trump is saying that all people from Mexico are drug dealing criminal rapists. I use the Hispanic population as an example because they are the predominate ethnicity in Mexico, but based on different web-sites and news casts, a number of non-Hispanic people seem to agree with that assertion.
One of these people is Presidential hopeful Rick Perry, former Governor of Texas.
On a recent Sean Hannity show, Perry Said This: "But to paint with the broad brush that Mr. Trump did and basically say that all Mexicans were rapists and killers is you know, that's just the type if inflammatory language that doesn't do anything at all". (Perry)
A politically correct response by a candidate who learned the hard way in 2012.
While others were calling him a racist, I was saying at worse he was being racially insensitive, and most likely misunderstood. The term racist has been overused and the true meaning has been diminished. Today you're considered racist if your white. The term white privilege seems to be a favorite to throw out there. If you say your a fan of the Dukes of Hazard, you are now considered a racist. If you believe that our country is defined by borders, language, and culture, then your a bigoted selfish racist.
So now let's analyze what Trump said in the fuller context of what he was saying:
"We don’t
have victories any more. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them.
When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let’s say China, in a trade
deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time, all the time. When did we beat
Japan? At anything. They send their cars over by the millions. And what do we
do, when was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn’t exist
folks. They beat us all the time. When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re
laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they’re beating us economically. They
are not our friend. Believe me. But they are killing us economically. The U.S.
has become a dumping ground for everyone else’s problems. Thank you. It’s true.
And these aren’t the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re
not sending their best. They’re not sending you, they’re not sending you.
They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those
problems with us. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re
rapist, and some I assume are good people. But I speak to border guards and
they tell us what they are getting. And it only makes common sense, it only
makes common sense. They’re sending us not the right people and it’s coming
from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America. And
it’s coming probably, probably from the Middle East. But we don’t know because
we have no protection”. (Trump)
Victories. What does victory mean to the average American? Victory can take on many forms, and the opposite of victory is defeat. While some Americans experience victory, many more have experienced defeat. Though the 90's experienced the computer revolution, it also experienced the birth of the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as (NAFTA). An agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, allowed for an exodus of good paying U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico. With a seemingly endless supply of cheap labor, it did not take long for a trade imbalance to take effect. Data shows that the U.S. has a trade deficit of approximately 181 Billion dollars and has lost at least a million jobs to Mexico. (Wallach)
NAFTA has proved to be a bad deal for American workers.
Throughout the speech, Trump uses the word (they) or (they're). When I worked for the Home Depot, often new policies and procedures would come down and upper Management would always say: they say we have to do this, or they say this has to change. One day I asked, who is they? the response was corporate. In Trumps case, I believe he is referring to the specific Governments, not the actual people, when he says they. They being China, they being Japan, They being Mexico.
Victories. What does victory mean to the average American? Victory can take on many forms, and the opposite of victory is defeat. While some Americans experience victory, many more have experienced defeat. Though the 90's experienced the computer revolution, it also experienced the birth of the North American Free Trade Agreement, better known as (NAFTA). An agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico, allowed for an exodus of good paying U.S. manufacturing jobs to Mexico. With a seemingly endless supply of cheap labor, it did not take long for a trade imbalance to take effect. Data shows that the U.S. has a trade deficit of approximately 181 Billion dollars and has lost at least a million jobs to Mexico. (Wallach)
NAFTA has proved to be a bad deal for American workers.
Throughout the speech, Trump uses the word (they) or (they're). When I worked for the Home Depot, often new policies and procedures would come down and upper Management would always say: they say we have to do this, or they say this has to change. One day I asked, who is they? the response was corporate. In Trumps case, I believe he is referring to the specific Governments, not the actual people, when he says they. They being China, they being Japan, They being Mexico.
I have been following Trump for quite some time, and he has always been critical of U.S. policies abroad. He always seems to be amazed by the stupidity of the decisions that are made within the government, especially overseas issues. I will attempt to paraphrase his rhetoric. ( We have bases in Korea, spend hundreds of millions of dollars to protect them and what do we get out of it? Nothing. They do Billions a year in this country and we get nothing. If they want us there, they should be paying the cost.
Here he is in his own words.
Notice how he refers to Korea as they, meaning the government, not necessarily the people.
This gives context to how Trump speaks. he is blunt and to the point. So when he asks, " When do we beat Mexico at the border? They're laughing at us, at our stupidity" I think he is referring to the lack of a U.S. immigration and border policy.
Take for example, Sgt. Andrew Tamooressi. A decorated Marine on his way to California to seek medical treatment for PTSD. He makes a wrong turn and ends up in a one way lane to the border. He calls 911 and they tell him that there is nothing that they can do for him. He tells the mexican Border Patrol that he did not intend to enter Mexico. he tells them that he has three registered firearms in his truck and they arrest him. He spends the next 217 days rotting in Mexican prison. (Faberov)
The Mexican Government arrests one of our military personnel for making a wrong turn, but they allow tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to enter into their country from South America, and allow them passage to the U.S., on a series of freight trains that the migrants call the beast, or La bestia. It is estimated that at least 60,000 children will be detained this year alone. (Sayre)
This flood of immigrants has created a very lucrative black market for Mexico. Human traffickers, or better known as coyote's, operate under the protection of the drug cartels and can collect from six to seven thousand dollars per person. It is reported that up to seventy percent of the females that make the journey will be sexually assaulted along the way. (Lovelace)
This illustrates the corruption that exists within the Mexican Government and local drug cartels.
Trump references the drugs and crime that is coming into our country. Just a few weeks after his speech, Kathryn Steinle, a 32 year old medical devise salesperson, was taking a walk on the San Francisco pier with her father, when she was fatally shot by an illegal immigrant who had seven felony drug convictions and one who was deported five separate times. (Spagat and Har)
Her last words, "Help me Dad". (Parry and Clements)
In a jail house interview, The defendant, whom I refuse to mention by name, said that he would always return to San Fransisco because of their sanctuary policy. San Francisco is one of many cities that has adopted a policy where local public officials are barred from following Federal immigration policies.
This is not a isolated incident. In 2013, it was reported that 36,007 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions were released by Imigration and Customs Enforcement, or (ICE). The chart to the left shows the types and number of convictions among illegal aliens. (Vaughan)
It has been documented that at least 1000 of the illegal criminals that were released, returned to the United States and committed various crimes ranging from murder to child sex abuse. (Dinan)
How many more lives will we allow to be cut short by people who should not be here in the first place. These are the people that I believe Trump was talking about. The scum that would rape innocent girls as they are making their way for a better chance in life, or the drug dealers that transport tons of drugs into our communities on a daily basis, creating a path of destruction and a lifetime of addiction. And lets not forget Kathryn Steinle and the thousand other law abiding citizens, who's lives were cut short due to the criminality of illegals.
I think that most people were taken off guard by the bluntness of Trump's speech. Needless to say he has caught the attention of a lot of people. Going forward he may want to use a better choice of words when explaining controversial topics, but I doubt it.
Here he is in his own words.
Notice how he refers to Korea as they, meaning the government, not necessarily the people.
 |
| Sgt. Tahmooressi |
This gives context to how Trump speaks. he is blunt and to the point. So when he asks, " When do we beat Mexico at the border? They're laughing at us, at our stupidity" I think he is referring to the lack of a U.S. immigration and border policy.
Take for example, Sgt. Andrew Tamooressi. A decorated Marine on his way to California to seek medical treatment for PTSD. He makes a wrong turn and ends up in a one way lane to the border. He calls 911 and they tell him that there is nothing that they can do for him. He tells the mexican Border Patrol that he did not intend to enter Mexico. he tells them that he has three registered firearms in his truck and they arrest him. He spends the next 217 days rotting in Mexican prison. (Faberov)
The Mexican Government arrests one of our military personnel for making a wrong turn, but they allow tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to enter into their country from South America, and allow them passage to the U.S., on a series of freight trains that the migrants call the beast, or La bestia. It is estimated that at least 60,000 children will be detained this year alone. (Sayre)
 | |||
| La Bestia |
This illustrates the corruption that exists within the Mexican Government and local drug cartels.
 |
| Kathryn Steinle |
Her last words, "Help me Dad". (Parry and Clements)
In a jail house interview, The defendant, whom I refuse to mention by name, said that he would always return to San Fransisco because of their sanctuary policy. San Francisco is one of many cities that has adopted a policy where local public officials are barred from following Federal immigration policies.
This is not a isolated incident. In 2013, it was reported that 36,007 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions were released by Imigration and Customs Enforcement, or (ICE). The chart to the left shows the types and number of convictions among illegal aliens. (Vaughan)It has been documented that at least 1000 of the illegal criminals that were released, returned to the United States and committed various crimes ranging from murder to child sex abuse. (Dinan)
How many more lives will we allow to be cut short by people who should not be here in the first place. These are the people that I believe Trump was talking about. The scum that would rape innocent girls as they are making their way for a better chance in life, or the drug dealers that transport tons of drugs into our communities on a daily basis, creating a path of destruction and a lifetime of addiction. And lets not forget Kathryn Steinle and the thousand other law abiding citizens, who's lives were cut short due to the criminality of illegals.
I think that most people were taken off guard by the bluntness of Trump's speech. Needless to say he has caught the attention of a lot of people. Going forward he may want to use a better choice of words when explaining controversial topics, but I doubt it.
I am concerned by the path that our country is on. Far to often people are being demonized for views that have or comments they make. Sure some language is off limits, but when ones words are taken out of context and manipulated to destroy that person, we have to ask ourselves, what ever happened to free speech?
Works Cited
Dinan, Stephan. "Illegal immigrants released
from custody committed 1,000 new crimes." 30 January 2015. http://www.washingtontimes.com.
Electronic Document. 17 July 2015.
Donald Trump Presidential Announcement. By Donald Trump. Perf. Donald Trump. Trump Tower,
New York. 16 June 2015. Speech.
Farberov, Snejana. "DailyMail.com." 06
November 2014. Dailymail.co.uk. News Article. 14 July 2015.
"Illegal immigrants released from custody
committed 1,000 new crimes." 15 January 2015. http://www.washingtontimes.com.
Electronic Document. 17 July 2015.
Limbaugh, Rush. "Colbert King's Low-Information
Definition of the Term "Low-Information Voter"." 25 March 2013.
Rushlimbaugh.com. Internet. 13 July 2015.
lovelace, Ryan. "‘Coyotes’ Lure Illegal
Immigrants with Promises of Amnesty." 25 July 2014. http://www.nationalreview.com.
Electronic Document. 19 July 2015.
Parry, Brian and Joanne Clements. "EXCLUSIVE:
'Help me dad': Heartbroken father describes the final moments of daughter who
was shot at random on San Francisco pier by illegal immigrant - and insists
'justice will prevail'." 5 July 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk.
Electronic document. 19 July 2015.
Perry, Rick. Rick Perry slams Donald Trump's
'disrespectful language' on 'Hannity' Sean Hannity. 7 July 2015. Television
show.
Sayre, Wilson. "Riding 'The Beast' Across Mexico
To The U.S. Border." 5 June 2014. http://www.npr.org. Electronic
document. 19 July 2015.
Spagat, Elliot and Janie Har. "Woman Shot at San
Francisco Pier Fuels Immigration Debate." 9 July 2015. http://abcnews.go.com.
Electronic Document. 15 July 2015.
Vaughan, Jessica. "ICE Document Details 36,000
Criminal Alien Releases in 2013 ." May 2014. http://cis.org.
Electronic document. 19 July 2015.
Wallach, Lori. "NAFTA at 20: One Million U.S.
Jobs Lost, Higher Income Inequality." 6 January 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com.
Electronic document. 19 July 2015.
