Obama and Trump: the racism underneath the rhetoric

By Mariesa Kubasek

After Obama's hilarious send up of the birther hubbub at the White House Correspondents Dinner and his somber yet reassuring address to the nation after the announcement of Osama Bin Laden's death, Donald Trump had to know that he had been…well, trumped. Reporter's laughs and Americans' celebratory songs seemed to have drowned out the crazy spilling out of Trump's mouth. And with this pause — for it might only be temporary — there appeared to be a sense of relief.

We feel a sense of relief because one, we don't have to see his hair on television so often and wonder, "How?" And two, we can ignore the fact that not only was Trump spewing genuinely racist comments, but that he also had the support of Americans.

One could argue that Trump was just engaging in some good old-fashioned mudslinging, a favorite American political pastime. We're used to the routine by now. During elections, politicians unearth information about their opponents — including everything from financial scandals to extramarital affairs to inhaling marijuana — in the hopes of damaging their image and putting a dent in their public opinion polls. The practice is a sort of ad hominem hybrid, attacking not the candidate's policies or platforms, but his private life.

If this candidate has broken the law, broached an ethical code, or displayed a general lack of intelligence, might this not impact his or her ability to lead effectively and soundly? Certainly, if you believe that the distinction between one's personal life and public actions creates a false dichotomy, then these questions become important. If you're not one for these sorts of disputes, it's usually possible to sidestep the commotion and focus on the candidates' proposals. But mudslinging at its peak overshadows policy debates and achieves its true purpose: distraction.

As we near a new election season, potential candidates have started not with the policy debate, but with the mudslinging. And Trump led the pack. He pulled a Charlie Sheen, appearing on almost every morning show imaginable, openly doubting whether Obama was born in the United States.

As he questioned Obama's citizenship, Trump said we wouldn't believe the stuff he was finding. Well, we didn't. Mostly because he never offered up any tangible proof, and Obama released his long form birth certificate. Dismayed that our president had to verify that indeed, he was a U.S. citizen, we thought it was done. But then Trump called Obama's academic credentials into question. This seemed even more preposterous, although we couldn't quite articulate why.

Before Obama had to call Harvard and ask for official transcripts in a sealed envelope, he delivered a speech with impeccable comedic timing at the White House Correspondents Dinner, making it very clear that Trump was a walking (or rather, pouting) joke.

Shortly thereafter, he declared to the nation that, through a concerted effort, Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed. And we were relieved, because now that Obama had proved he was a capable and decisive leader, all this birther mess was over.

But the mess is not over. It has just been swept under the rug. Trump's morning show stints and incessant accusations were unsettling because they were not founded on any real signs that Obama was unintelligent or a poor leader. No, they were based on the simple fact that President Obama does not look like the majority of Americans in power. He's not white, his dad was from Kenya, so how can we be so sure that he's American? And how can we be so sure he's capable of leading this country? Trump's remarks reflected the insidious xenophobia and racism that persist in the United States, and that pressure Obama to continually prove himself in ways previous presidents never had to. We are not so naïve as to deny that racism still exists in the United States. But we are so cowardly as to avoid any dialogue that roots out why it still exists. While our complacency allows racism to fester on the margins, politicians like Trump feed into these racist sentiments and dormant fears, manipulating and distracting constituents. At a time when we must contend with budget cuts to social services, at a time when we are embroiled in two wars, at a time when we may be surpassed economically by other nations, we don't need any more distractions.

What we do need is constructive dialogue and action that addresses the aforementioned issues, and the fact that Trump's ideas and his birther support challenge our national identity as a multicultural, tolerant society. We can't just sweep this under the rug, or laugh it off at a White House Correspondents Dinner.

Mariesa Kuabasek is a senior philosophy and political science double major.