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So many disturbing and heartbreaking themes emerged out of the violence in Charlottesville， Virginia， on August 12 that it’s difficult to know where to begin. The events in Charlottesville—particularly the white supremacy that was on display—were， unfortunately， not a new phenomenon. Two questions have been raised repeatedly in the aftermath of Charlottesville： What is the root cause of this rage and what are the consequences of this violence？
There is little doubt that Donald Trump’s presidency has， either carelessly or overtly， motivated the white nationalist and white supremacy movement to come out of the shadows and display its hatred with unabashed pride. The movement has encouraged hatred via an online “troll” culture which has pushed the boundaries of civility by arguing against diversity in the name of identity politics and was part of a broader cultural backlash that helped elect Trump. Combine that movement with a greater emphasis on nationalism， racial resentment， fear of immigration， and opposition to economic globalization and it is of little wonder that things eventually boiled over in Charlottesville.
Frankly， President Trump’s original comments criticizing violent white nationalists who marched through the streets of Charlottesville were far too muted and defi -nitely too late. The fact that it took the death of counter protester Heather Heyer and a massive public backlash to spur Trump to actually denounce neo-Nazis and white na- tionalists is both shameful and demoralizing to most Americans. It suggests that Trump is so politically tone-deaf and detached from political reality that he thought that his original comments were adequate. The alternative is even more disturbing to consider： Trump did not want to alienate those whom he considers to be an important part of his political constituency. It has been 72 years since World War II ended and we are presented with the spectacle of a U.S. president who was slow to condemn white supremacists.
Granted， President Trump is not directly responsible for the actions that killed Heyer， but his incendiary rhetoric helped encourage the driver with hate， who ploughed a car into the crowd against the white supremacy rally. If one doubts that or believes that I am engaging hyperbole， recall that Trump has never been slow to regularly condemn China for baseless charges on trade， intellectual property， the South China Sea， cross-Taiwan Straits relations， and the Korean Peninsula tension. During his campaign for president， he was never slow to attack the Black Lives Matter movement by name for allegedly causing attacks on police offi cers—even as he explicitly encouraged violence at his own campaign rallies by telling his supporters that he would cover their legal expenses if they got arrested. And just a few weeks ago， Trump encouraged New Jersey police officers to rough up suspects.
There is little doubt that Donald Trump’s presidency has， either carelessly or overtly， motivated the white nationalist and white supremacy movement to come out of the shadows and display its hatred with unabashed pride. The movement has encouraged hatred via an online “troll” culture which has pushed the boundaries of civility by arguing against diversity in the name of identity politics and was part of a broader cultural backlash that helped elect Trump. Combine that movement with a greater emphasis on nationalism， racial resentment， fear of immigration， and opposition to economic globalization and it is of little wonder that things eventually boiled over in Charlottesville.
Frankly， President Trump’s original comments criticizing violent white nationalists who marched through the streets of Charlottesville were far too muted and defi -nitely too late. The fact that it took the death of counter protester Heather Heyer and a massive public backlash to spur Trump to actually denounce neo-Nazis and white na- tionalists is both shameful and demoralizing to most Americans. It suggests that Trump is so politically tone-deaf and detached from political reality that he thought that his original comments were adequate. The alternative is even more disturbing to consider： Trump did not want to alienate those whom he considers to be an important part of his political constituency. It has been 72 years since World War II ended and we are presented with the spectacle of a U.S. president who was slow to condemn white supremacists.
Granted， President Trump is not directly responsible for the actions that killed Heyer， but his incendiary rhetoric helped encourage the driver with hate， who ploughed a car into the crowd against the white supremacy rally. If one doubts that or believes that I am engaging hyperbole， recall that Trump has never been slow to regularly condemn China for baseless charges on trade， intellectual property， the South China Sea， cross-Taiwan Straits relations， and the Korean Peninsula tension. During his campaign for president， he was never slow to attack the Black Lives Matter movement by name for allegedly causing attacks on police offi cers—even as he explicitly encouraged violence at his own campaign rallies by telling his supporters that he would cover their legal expenses if they got arrested. And just a few weeks ago， Trump encouraged New Jersey police officers to rough up suspects.