Donald Trump has mobilized his supporters around policies that many critics have blasted as Islamophobia, racist against black Americans, and xenophobic against Latino immigrants.
But what do other white people have to say about all this?
As activist groups like Deport Racism have slammed Trump’s divisive rhetoric, musician Heather Bentley created the #WhitesAgainstTrump hashtag last week, calling for fellow white people to stand up against the 2016 Republican presidential frontrunner.
https://twitter.com/heatherbviola/status/674648557849219072
The hashtag lingered in relative obscurity until Tuesday afternoon, when comedian W. Kamau Bell tweeted the hashtag and an article he wrote for Salon, boosting #WhitesAgainstTrump to trend on Twitter during the GOP debate.
From noted white guy @adammansbach on @salon about @realdonaldtrump. https://t.co/P2wAaOwdam #WhitesAgainstTrump pic.twitter.com/eJD5noFlk2
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) December 15, 2015
Bell asked white people to use the hashtag during the GOP debate.
White people, while you’re watching & making fun of @realDonaldTrump on here how bout using #WhitesAgainstTrump? https://t.co/6vBazRzGxm
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) December 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/heatherbviola/status/677036442632126464
Many used the hashtag to express their concerns with Trump and how he’s rallied supporters around race- and religion-based rhetoric.
I stand with #WhitesAgainstTrump because I want a country of acceptance for all people that treats everyone as equals.
— Brittany S. Holmes (they/them) (@bsholmes) December 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/missbumptious/status/676932885555847169
https://twitter.com/YoyodyneInc/status/676933184492339200
https://twitter.com/JoshGwiazdowski/status/677161659077627905
https://twitter.com/AudraEqualityMc/status/676960020064509953
https://twitter.com/Payitforward87/status/677125319447453696
As the hashtag trended, critics blasted Bell and called the amplification of #WhitesAgainstTrump itself racist. According to Bell, these critics were missing the point.
https://twitter.com/deutschephysik_/status/676953825127899137
Thank you for proving the point for us. #WhitesAgainstTrump #AndABlackGuyAgainstThisChump https://t.co/KC14UeZDC8
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) December 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/Hove/status/677054108755447809
You forgot the # symbol. Let me help you. #WhitesAgainstTrump #YouAreWelcome https://t.co/xUwtfuvXkW
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) December 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/ButtChucks/status/677151710956138496
You have wild imagination. Can you now draw me a picture of what it would look like if a unicorn & lion had a baby? https://t.co/7WeyEXFxlD
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) December 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/brycycIe/status/677164253380390913
No, I’m not. Try again. https://t.co/wVOzmsqEpI
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) December 16, 2015
Trump has come under fire repeatedly during the 2016 campaign: after his calls to deport all 11.3 million illegal immigrants; after video captured his supporters beating and calling a Black Lives Matter protester in Alabama racial slurs as he was removed from the rally weeks ago; after he called for a “total and complete” ban on Muslims entering the U.S.; and again, most recently, after a video captured Trump’s supporters at a Las Vegas rally calling a Muslim protester racial slurs while violently removing him.
Michael Vadon / flickr (CC by 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman
