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David,
When President Trump said after Charlottesville that there were “very fine
people
on both sides,” he gave license and safe harbor for hate to white
supremacists,
Neo-Nazis and the KKK. Those words stunned the nation and
shocked the world.
I said at the time that we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. I
said it again
when I announced my campaign for president. And I said it
again today. We are
in
a battle for the soul of this nation. It’s why I’m running for president.
Charlottesville was no isolated incident. Trump announced he was running
for
president by calling Mexicans “rapists.” Days before the mid-terms, he fomented
fears of a caravan heading to the United States -- creating hysteria --
saying,
“look at what is
marching up, that is an invasion…an invasion.”
How far is it from Trump’s saying that “is an invasion” to the shooter in
El Paso declaring “this
attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas”?
Not far at all.
How far is it from the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville
--
Trump’s “very fine people” -- chanting “You will not replace us” -- to the shooter
at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh saying Jews “were committing
genocide to his
people”?
Not far at all.
In both clear language and in code, this president has fanned the flames of
white supremacy in this nation.
His low-energy, vacant-eyed mouthing of the words written for him
condemning
white supremacists this week fooled no one.
He says guns are not the problem in these mass shootings -- that the issue
is
mental health. It’s a dodge. Hatred isn’t a mental health issue.
We have a problem with a rising tide of white supremacy in America.
And what has Trump done? Poured fuel on the fire.
He’s more concerned about losing their votes than beating back their
hateful
ideology.
But look -- I wish I could say this hate began with Donald Trump and will
end with
him. It didn’t and it won’t. American history isn’t a fairytale.
For 243 years, the battle for the soul of this nation has been a constant
push-and-
pull between the American ideal that we are all created equal and
the harsh reality
that racism has long torn us apart.
The same document that promised to
“secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity”
also allowed for slavery and included the so-called “Three-Fifths
Compromise” that discounted the very humanity of black people in America.
The honest truth is both elements are part of the American character. At
our best,
the American ideal wins out. But it’s never a rout. It’s always a
fight. And the battle
is never finished.
So it’s up to us. We’re living through a rare moment in this nation’s
history, where
our president isn’t up to the moment; where our president
lacks the moral authority
to lead.
We are almost 330 million Americans who have to do what our president
can’t. We must stand together. Stand against hate. Stand up for what -- at
our best -- this
nation believes. We believe in honesty. Decency. Treating
everyone with dignity and
respect. Giving everyone a fair shot. Leaving no
one behind. Giving hate no safe
harbor. Demonizing no one -- not the poor,
the powerless, the immigrant, the other.
What this president doesn’t understand is that, unlike in nearly every
other
nation on earth, you can’t define an American by religion or
ethnicity or tribe.
America is an idea.
It’s an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful
than any dictator or tyrant.
So look, we cannot --
and I will not -- let this man be reelected President of the United States.
His incompetence, his amorality, his carnage stops with us --
right here,
right now.
The core values of this nation…our standing in the world…our very
democracy...everything that has made America, America is at stake.
Everyone knows who Donald Trump is.
We need to show them who we are. We choose hope over fear. Science over
fiction. Unity over division. And yes -- truth over lies.
If we stand together, we will win the battle for the soul of this nation.
We are the United States of America. And there isn’t a single thing we
can’t do.
Thank you. And may God protect our troops.
Joe
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