Opinion
Christina Greer on Trump’s racialized rhetoric
This past weekend, a protest by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned violent, resulting in the death of one counter-protester and 19 injuries. The incident raised questions of American identity, especially after President Donald Trump waited 48 hours to specifically condemn white supremacists.
Dr. Christina Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University, believes that Trump has encouraged a toxic political environment by embracing racialized rhetoric in his campaign and during his presidency, from “the birther movement” that questioned where President Barack Obama was born to last month’s rally on Long Island condemning the MS-13 gang. The Slant podcast talked to Greer about a president she calls the “boy king” and the Republicans who have enabled him to this point.
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She also addressed some local politics, like why she believes Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis doesn’t have the leadership capabilities to serve as mayor of New York City, and whether Mayor Bill de Blasio has fulfilled the progressive ideals of his pivotal 2013 campaign.
“We had 20 years of Republican leadership that basically ignored people of color,” Greer said about de Blasio’s predecessors, Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg.
Greer discussed the feud between de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo as well, and offered her secret solution to getting the two men to reconcile. You can subscribe and listen to the podcast below.
Editor’s note: This conversation was recorded before President Trump specifically condemned white supremacists on Monday, two days after broadly condemning violence on “many sides.”
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