Donald Trump is mourning voter fraud and perpetuating racial profiling - Social Justice - 2021
During a rally in Ambridge, Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon, Donald Trump again told his supporters to "keep an eye on" "other communities" who aim to "steal" the election. It's a throwback to conspiracy theory that speculates that the 2012 election was rigged by election fraud in Pennsylvania - specifically Philadelphia - as well as Florida and Ohio. It has already been debunked several times, but that hasn't stopped the Republican candidate from repeatedly presenting it as fact to his supporters, and that is dangerous.
With the state being a key battleground, Trump has encouraged fears of election fraud in Pennsylvania. "I hope people can not just vote eighth - go around and look and look at other polling posts and make sure everything is 100% okay," Trump told the rally of him. He went on to say, "We're going to look at Pennsylvania, go down to some areas and look and study to make sure other people don't come in and vote five times." Concerned about Detroit, he made similar comments in Ohio in September.
While Trump has overwhelming support from the mostly suburban and rural regions of Ohio and Pennsylvania, he has virtually zero support in the populated cities of Philadelphia and Detroit, both of which have demographics largely made up of people of color. Bill Shuster, a speaker at one of Trump's events in Pennsylvania, openly told the crowd that "the people in central and western Pennsylvania have to get over what's going on in Philadelphia."
With that in mind, the candidate and his substitutes do not so subtly encourage racial stereotypes that might intimidate non-white Americans wanting to cast their vote on November 8. How does Trump expect his supporters to know who the "certain" people need to be careful about? He doesn't have to explicitly say he is racial minority vigilant for the crowds at him rallies him to get the message.
Considering how many people at his events shout out racist slurs, as well as the frequency of violence that tends to erupt at these rallies, Trump's words could have a dangerous result. I can only hope that state officials in Pennsylvania and Ohio have taken note of the possible intimidation that could occur on election day. Security measures must be implemented to prevent any violence or discrimination. Any citizen who wants to vote should have the right to do so without fearing for their own well-being.
