Donald Trump’s controversial comments may have launched him into frontrunner status in the Republican Party, but his emotionally charged statements may be more damaging to the country than any terror group.
Journalist Dean Obeidallah recently questioned whether Trump is doing more harm than good with his provocative statements seemingly designed for sound bites, and more Americans are starting to ask the same question.
From The Donald’s call to ban all Muslims entering the country to his demand for a wall along the Mexico border, the real estate tycoon’s racial comments have divided the country and the Republican Party.
Donald Trump clip used to recruit followers for Al-Qaeda affiliate https://t.co/LU4uzhkQv4 pic.twitter.com/qHMgk62kNX
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 2, 2016
Recruitment Videos
Trump may have become the new poster boy for radicalized extremists in the Middle East because of his call to ban all Muslims from entering the country.
An Al-Qaeda-affiliated terror group just used Trump’s anti-Muslim comments in their latest recruitment video. The video calls the United States a hotbed of racial inequality, police brutality, and anti-Muslim sentiment, and calls on African-Americans to join the holy war against the U.S., according to the Washington Post .
The terror group isn’t the only one using Trump’s words to promote their agenda. White supremacy groups have also used The Donald’s comments to promote their political views.
White supremacy leader Don Black told Politico that Trump’s comments have help spark a racial insurgency in the country.
“Demoralization has been the biggest enemy and Trump is changing all that. He’s certainly creating a movement that will continue independently of him even if he does fold at some point.”
Donald Trump Can Post Hate Speech To #Facebook , But You Can’t https://t.co/WVYWz8xAxE #p2 #SocialMedia pic.twitter.com/olfNqqaQ91
— ? R Saddler (@Politics_PR) January 2, 2016
Immigration
Trump launched his presidential campaign with radical statements calling illegal immigrants from Mexico rapists and drug dealers. The comments served to alienate minorities the Republican Party spent years cultivating.
He went on to blame African-Americans and Latinos for the violence in large cities citing faulty statistics that claimed white victims were overwhelmingly harmed by black offenders.
Republicans
The billionaire’s controversial comments have also driven a wedge through the Republican Party and forced other presidential nominees to try and “out Trump” The Donald or face obscurity.
Donald’s racist and misogynistic comments have driven him to front runner status with support of right-wing voters, but has largely alienated him and his party from more moderate voters.
Trump has done such a good job of alienating voters that the Democratic presidential candidates have stopped campaigning against each other and instead taken to criticizing the billionaire. They earn enormous free publicity with every criticism, as The Donald strikes back with more outrageous comments.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… an Anti-Donald Trump message in the sky at the Rose Parade? https://t.co/dx6Fm8IDtU
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) January 2, 2016
Foreign Affairs
Trump’s call to ban all Muslims from entering the country is shaping up to affect America’s relationship with other countries, whether he wins the presidential election or not.
Homeland Security officials have stopped at least 20 British Muslim families from entering the country without giving a reason, and U.K. officials are calling for investigation.
U.K. government officials have even proposed a ban on Donald Trump entering their country citing his hate speech as proof the billionaire would be detrimental to the public good.
The recent Paris terrorist attacks and San Bernardino shooting have sent fear into the heart of America, but Trump’s controversial comments may have done more damage to the U.S. by dividing Americans from Americans.
Whether Donald Trump wins the presidential nomination or not, he has changed American politics and affected the racial landscape in the country for years to come.
[Photo by Darren McCollester /Getty Images]