Check out highlights from this year’s convention, where GOP leaders proudly spoke for our platform of white nationalism and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Although some of our speakers tried to make Trump white nationalist agenda more subtle than our new explicitly white nationalist position, others used our tried and true dog-whistles about “replacement theory,” openly nationalist rhetoric, and supportive nods to conspiracy theories such as QAnon to show what we really stand for.
Many of our speakers also tried to spread fear among suburban white voters about being unsafe in “Joe Biden’s America,” even as we continue to incite violence in Donald Trump’s America by celebrating people who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters – just one day before a teenage Trump supporter murdered two protesters in Kenosha. It’s an effective deflective tactic that is sure to work well with voters.
Vice President Mike Pence even tried to give cover to the racist “Boogaloo” movement by implying that a murder committed by the right-wing militia group was actually committed by Black Lives Matter protesters, which will help us save face as we continue to stoke the fires of fear of division.
Here are some other great moments from the convention:
- President Trump attacked voting rights on the opening day of the convention in a strong attempt to prevent the counting of votes by people of color, and to undermine confidence in a fair democratic election. We feel fine about this.
- Rep. Matt Gaetz promoted replacement theory, a racist and antisemitic conspiracy theory that echoes our platform.
- Sen. Tim Scott attacked “Manhattan elites and Hollywood moguls,” dog-whistles for Jews that let us say “Jews” without saying “Jews.”
- Charlie Kirk, President of Turning Point USA, called Trump “the bodyguard of Western civilization,” again referring to our fear of replacement.
- Kimberly Guilfoyle attacked “cosmopolitan elites,” another well-known dog-whistle for Jews. We have many.
- Rep. Jim Jordan fear-mongered about people of color as he spoke about “cities controlled by Democrats,” which helps us hold power for ourselves.
- QAnon believer and congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene announced that she had been personally invited to attend Donald Trump’s acceptance speech on the fourth and final night of the convention. This came just as we rescinded the invitation of slated speaker Mary Ann Mendoza after the Daily Beast reported that she promoted a QAnon conspiracy theory about a Jewish plot to “make the goyim destroy each other.” The latter was a minor setback, but luckily we have a deep roster of very fine people to fill her spot.
- Madison Cawthorn, Congressional Candidate for NC-11, recently raised eyebrows with his Instagram posts in front of the Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany, Hitler’s notorious vacation home, as well as posing with symbols appropriated by white nationalist groups. We were happy to condone all this by having him speak at our convention.
- Former acting Director of National Intelligence proudly declared President Trump a nationalist on Wednesday night: “The D.C. crowd think when they call Donald Trump a nationalist, they’re insulting him.” He also defended America First, an echo of the America First Committee which advocated for isolationism before World War II and was led by anti-semitic figures like Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh. Sometimes we don’t even need dog-whistles.
- Burgess Owens, Congressional Candidate for UT-04 claimed that “mobs torch our cities while popular members of Congress promote the same socialism my father fought against in World War II.” The United States did not fight socialism during WWII; the United States fought the Nazis, who were right-wing fascists. Luckily, this claim supported our narrative, so we have no problem with it. Fun fact: in May 2020 Burgess appeared on The Common Sense Show, a QAnon-affiliated program that promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories.
- Jack Brewers, Black Voices for Trump, misleadingly claimed that Trump didn’t say the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville for Unite the Right in 2017 were “very fine people.” He did, but we’re ok throwing another wrench in the fact-checkers’ gears while they sift through our other statements.
- Rep. Dan Crenshaw, spoke on night three. Crenshaw was exposed during his 2018 congressional race as a Facebook Administrator for a far-right group that regularly posted white nationalist conspiracy theories, and blamed the shooting at Chabad of Poway on a cartoon in The New York Times, despite the gunman’s far-right manifesto. But we’re ok with him!
- Vice President Mike Pence misleadingly described the killing of officer Dave Patrick Underwood in the California “riots.” He was careful not to mention the killer is a member of the far-right Boogaloo movement who used Black Lives Matter protests as a cover, doing a great job to imply it was racial justice protesters who killed Underwood (just one day after a white teenage vigilante allegedly killed two protesters in Kenosha).
- VP Pence closed his speech with “Make American great again… again” – a nice shoutout to this very website!
- Former mayor, former presidential candidate, and former advisor to the President, Rudy Giuliani spoke on night four of the convention. Giuliani has a long history of attacks on Black and Muslim communities. In Dec. 2019, Giuliani described himself as “more of a Jew than George Soros is,” and we’re happy to have anyone on our stage who hate-mongers to further our cause.
- Congressional candidate and QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted an antisemitic conspiracy theory about George Soros shortly before attending Trump’s acceptance speech at the White House on his invitation. We feel perfectly fine about this and support her.
President Trump’s closing speech was packed with racist, antisemitic rhetoric and dangerous dog-whistles to his white nationalist supporters, and we’re behind him all the way:
- “This election will decide whether we will defend the American way of life or whether we will allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it.”
Trump is calling policies and attitudes towards racial justice and equity — supported by vast majorities of Americans — un-American and a threat to his white, Christian base. He refers here to replacement theory, which is responsible for inciting deadly violence, and by framing the election in these terms he is further inviting more violence from his white nationalist supporters. If it helps him, we’re ok with it! - “Massive numbers will pour into our country in order to get all of the goodies that they want to get, education, healthcare, everything.”
While most undocumented immigrants pay taxes, they are ineligible for many federal assistance rograms, and the Trump administration has repeatedly sought to deny immigrants access to public programs. Still a nice way for us to spread fear and hold onto our power. - “If the left gains power they will demolish the suburbs.”
According to NPR, “In recent weeks, President Trump has warned ominously about crime and Democrats seeking to “abolish” suburbs, using fear-mongering imagery to appeal to white suburban voters by stirring up racist fears about nonwhite residents who live there or might move there.” Trump of course began his career fighting for his ability to racially discriminate against Black renters, and we’re happy to hear him continuing our fight. - “wild-eyed Marxists like Bernie Sanders…”
Bernie Sanders is a Democratic Socialist, not a Marxist, but our far-right figures like to both call him a socialist or communist while invoking Jewish stereotypes of control and grotesque physical features. We see nothing wrong with this antisemitic strategy. - “The Biden-Bernie manifesto”
Trump referred repeatedly to Joe Biden’s agenda as the “Biden-Bernie manifesto.” In July, the official GOP website used this antisemitic trope to call Joe Biden the “puppet” of Bernie Sanders. If we can lump everyone together under one vaguely Jewish umbrella, why shouldn’t we?
- Trump conflated the death of police captain David Dorn during recent unrest with the peaceful protest movement for racial justice that may be the largest protest movement in the history of our country. This tactic was repeated through the convention. Captain Dorn’s daughters say their father would not have wanted his death to be politicized for Trump’s Agenda, but we are ok politicizing literally anything if it helps us win.
- “Whenever our way of life was threatened, our heroes answered the call.”
Trump has made it very clear whose way of life is threatened (hint: it’s not people of color), and his suggestion that it must be defended at any cost is a dangerous incitement of his white nationalist supporters. We feel totally good about this, despite the fact that Trump’s rhetoric has real-life consequences, from Pittsburgh to El Paso to Christchurch. One study found that “counties that had hosted a 2016 Trump campaign rally saw a 226 percent increase in reported hate crimes.” Makes sense, and that’s fine by us.