The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning President Trump’s recent Tweets that targeted four female Democratic members of Congress, known collectively as “The Squad”. While the vote was generally along party lines, the message sent, despite a Republican rebuke over the term “racist”, showed what can happen if you stand up to this administration.
By taking a stand against President Trump and his deplorable series of Tweets that told these women, who oppose Trump’s immigration policies, to “go back” to your country, these women have shown how he can be taken on in this era where so many have backed down. When you stand up to bullies, you expose their weaknesses. The more who stand up, the weaker the bully becomes. There is strength in numbers.
So, why won’t more Republicans stand up to Trump?
The answer lies in Trump’s approval ratings among Republicans. It stands at a seemingly insurmountable 90 percent! Amazingly, this number saw an increase AFTER his offensive Tweets.
In the past, Trump has derided polls that do not support him. Indeed, his overall approval ratings have never been over the mid forties. But it is his approval ratings among Republicans and his handling of the economy that continues to keep a majority of Republicans in line.
However, we may be witnessing a crack in Republican support. In voting for this resolution condemning his recent Tweets, four Republicans, and one former Republican, Michigan’s Justin Amash, now an independent, voted in favor of this resolution.
Could this be the opening many have hoped for? Given the aforementioned approval ratings among Republicans, this is highly unlikely. Instead, you see most Republicans are trying to deflect from his Tweets by pointing to comments made by these four Congresswomen.
But shouldn’t the person in the Oval Office be held to a higher standard? Not according to his defenders. They equate comments made by some of these Congresswomen as being the same, if not worse than Trump’s Tweets, and therefore contend his comments are justified.
Fortunately, these Congresswomen aren’t backing down. When Trump Tweeted that he “ doesn’t have a racist bone in his body“, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shot back saying he has “a racist mind in your head, and a racist heart in your chest.”
This is entirely new territory for Trump. Instead of backing down and cowering like so many of the subjects of his Tweets have done, they are fighting back. This puts Trump in the unique, and indeed awkward, position of playing defense.
Could this be the way to defeat Trump in 2020? Perhaps. Maybe if more people stood up to him, they would expose his weaknesses.
It’s time for more people to TAKE A STAND against racism!
