Let's play a game. One guess who the words below belong to:
“…But we also have a lot of bad people who have been here for a long time. People that wack people over the head with a baseball bat from behind when they are not looking and kill them. People that knife you when you are walking down the street…they’re not new to our country. They are old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here too if you want to know the truth. So, maybe that’ll be the next chapter we work on together.”
These are the words of President Donald Trump Admits Black People are Next
Trump. We can do the dance and pretend we don’t know what he is saying here. I’m sure someone will say he didn’t mention race, and to start, that doesn’t matter. He is talking about stripping away citizenship, and if we look at how he has been moving with ICE, this will not include due process.
Sure, the rhetoric will start with “these people are criminals,” but he and his goons will decide what makes someone a criminal. I’m sure I have enough writing online that I will be an eventual target.
Doesn’t mean I’m going to shut up, though. I know some Black people, especially some in my age range, have mostly dusted off Trump’s reign as just the same ol’ American racism.
He is rolling the clock back, though. We have a concentration camp in Florida, and political figures in my state are already talking about setting up one here if they are put in power. Yeah, to be Black in America has always been tough, but for most people, it is about to get a lot worse.
The goal
Are people still pretending this is a normal presidency? Are we still pretending that Harris would have been just as harmful to the world? I’m not just talking about the economy, I’m talking about lives lost.
Trump is egocentric and power hungry, like so many dictators before him. He craves absolute submission, and he understands the best way to gain blind followers is to create chaos and fear.
He doesn’t want people to ask questions as he slowly breaks laws to get rid of whatever group is the enemy of the day. He wants fear to drive us to relinquish rights. However, once done, the worms are out of the can, and it only gives him more power to go after other groups or literally do whatever he wants.
Trump does not care about you. More than that, Trump is going to actively hurt you unless you are a rich man who is willing to worship his every move.
Immigrants, women, LGBTQ people, poor people, heck, middle-class people, he is going to make all of your lives worse. If you are rich with a backbone, he will eventually destroy you, too. Even if you can’t muster the resolve to care about someone else, care about yourself.
Trump may avoid certain obvious words and phrases, but for the most part, he doesn’t hide his intent. Project 2025 laid everything out, and sure, he denied it in the most casual of ways, but people who pay attention understood what was going down.
For those who were oblivious, Trump entered his second term with no sugar coating, targeting minority groups hard. If we just look at Black people, he isn’t content with the status quo of systemic racism and police brutality.
He immediately went after DEI, programs meant to help combat systemic racism. He targeted Black History because knowledge is power, so we can’t have any of that, especially among Black people. Civil Rights era laws are being trampled on. I mean, I know many people have not received jobs because they were Black, but the few protections we had are gone.
I don’t want to rant about stuff we already know, but I do want to point out how serious this situation is for everyone. We already have masked men without identification hunting people down. People are being held without due process. Again, we have a concentration camp in Florida.
What now?
I know people are tired, but I don’t think a comfort read and a glass of wine are going to be enough to remove you from what is coming. Mentally, if you aren’t there, I get it. I just want us to keep it real about what is next. One thing we can all say about Trump is that he gets stuff done, and if he wants to get rid of people, he will get rid of people.
First off, for those thinking America voted for this, I’m not so sure. I encourage you to check out this piece by Benjamin David Steele. The media is a part of the problem, even the more liberal media. People should be talking about this, and Steele’s piece is an important part of that conversation.
Next, don’t just count on your politicians, especially established Democrats. They have proven to be at best oblivious accomplices to Trump’s reign, and I can’t help but feel they are all in it together. At the very best, they see the people as pawns to be used and punished if we don’t vote correctly. According to them, Democrats don’t need to change; we need to vote for them or suffer even under someone they described as an existential threat.
Establishment Democrats don’t care if we suffer, but they are also working under the assumption that there will be another fair election. I’m not so sure. Miami has already canceled an election, and I can see this type of thing going national because, again, between the Supreme Court and the silent majority, we have just given Trump the freedom to do whatever. He has been “joking” about a third term since day one.
So, what do we do? I’ve already touched on some suggestions in a few places, including organized and prolonged boycotts and meaningful, planned protests. However, I have a simpler starting point: reveal the truth to the ignorant.
Somehow, there are still people who don’t know what is going on. I know people can be extremely stubborn, but come bearing evidence. Make sure they get past the dog whistles and propaganda. Even your old-school, racist, Republican grandpa may gasp if he sees the numbers for Trump’s bill.
Will it do any good? I don’t know. Some people won’t be able to handle it. Some people will shut down, but there are so many good people in my life who don’t really understand what is going on. Ignorance is bliss, but perhaps it is time to wake up while they still have a choice.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of LG Ware's work on Medium.