That is what The New York Times op-ed columnist Charles M. Blow, a black man, asked in his column on September 18th. He questioned it partly in response to ESPN host Jemele Hill saying on September 11th, “Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.“
Blow provides evidence from Trump’s actions and words relating to this subject, and then Mr. Blow answers his own question as follows:
“It is clear that Trump is a hero among white supremacists: He panders to them, he is slow to condemn them and when that condemnation manifests, it is often forced and tepid. Trump never seems to be worried about offending anyone except Vladimir Putin and white supremacists.
“What does that say about him? How can you take comfort among and make common cause with white supremacists and not assimilate to their sensibilities?
“I say that it can’t be done. If you are not completely opposed to white supremacy, you are quietly supporting it. If you continue to draw equivalencies between white supremacists and the people who oppose them — as Trump did once again last week — you have crossed the racial Rubicon and moved beyond quiet support to vocal support. You have made an allegiance and dug a trench in the war of racial hostilities.
“Hill may have pushed into the realm of hyperbole with a few of her statements — it was Twitter after all — but I judge the spirit of her assessment to be true.
“Either Trump is himself a white supremacist or he is a fan and defender of white supremacists, and I quite honestly am unable to separate the two designations.”
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