In a discussion with BBC Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis, novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and editor-in-chief of the American Spectator, R Emmett Tyrrell, discussed whether Donald Trump is racist (duh!). Tyrell argued that it’s “inappropriate” to discuss the KKK in the same conversation as Trump because it’s a marginal group. He then attempted to gaslight by mentioning the Knights of Columbus as another marginal group that likely endorsed him, but hasn’t been discussed.
When Maitlis brought up the fact that “a fifth of Latinos and Hispanics” voted for Trump, Adichie countered, “Every system of oppression has people who are in the group of the oppressed who somehow contribute to that oppression.” Adichie also challenged the idea that Trump didn’t show his true self during the campaign, adding, “So we should look at Trump for who Trump has told us and shown us that he is. So let’s look at what he said on the campaign trail because the only way we can judge the kind of president he will be is based on the campaign he ran.
Tyrrell once again insisted Trump didn’t say anything racist during his campaign, and when Adichie pointed out Trump calling out Judge Gonzalo Curiel who is overseeing a lawsuit against Trump University as biased because of his Mexican heritage, Tyrrell denied Trump was being racist because the judge appeared to be white.
When asked if Trump will govern will govern the same way he campaigned, Tyrrell said he would govern in a “dignified” matter, reflecting the behavior he exhibited during his acceptance speech. Adichie also batted down the idea he can be judged based on one appearance. “To say to us that we have to disregard everything that Donald Trump said and did during his long campaign and judge him just on the one day after he had won the election, doesn’t make sense.”
