We Have Crossed a Line: “Send Her Back” Chant Echoes Across a New Landscape

Occasionally we take things a little seriously here and “send her back” is one of those moments that deserves reflection.

First of all, “send her back” is not new, and I’m not preparing a launch into comparisons to Nazi Germany or other countries that have slid into authoritarianism. That’s been done and you either see the parallels or you don’t.

Trump’s racism is not new. None of us heard the apprentice tapes but we know he’s on tape using the “n” word over and over. He openly sided with white nationalists after Charlottesville.

A Trump rally chanting twitter attacks back at him like eager sycophants is nothing new. They were chanting to “lock up” his opponent, a former First Lady and Secretary of State, before he even got elected.

What could be new is the degree to which this is less “Trump being Trump” and more part of an intentional Republican strategy for winning elections.

So how pissed should you be? Really, not at all. You should be disturbed.

An Oddly-Worded Tweet

Trump is not a natural rhetorician, and certainly not a stickler for grammar. Reread the inflammatory sentence. When was the last time you remember Trump being so careful as to not end a sentence with a preposition? The grammatically correct and academic “from which they came” as opposed to the more conversational “they came from” is an odd fit for the President’s tweets. Perhaps this tweet was not off the cuff, but rather edited by someone other than Trump. Then there was this signal at the rally in question (second video).

Because by now you should be starting to piece together what all of this means. When you have thousands of people collectively parroting whatever grievance, gripe, or whim Trump has at the moment, one has to wonder what these rallies mean for the country and our democracy.

The Dogwhistle Strategy

The story on Trump voters has always been two-sided with neither approaching the truth. To the left, they are racists, misogynists, homophobes etc and this is what motivates their vote and support. This is a vapid and uncurious position and one that continues to blind liberal politician and supporter alike. It’s just not that simple.

According to the right, Trump’s support is a rejection of government regulation, political correctness, and lax immigration policies. But even in this defense there is a nod towards the inherent racial animus and motivation of the Trump movement.

The Left will point to this rally and say they have been right all along and it’s hard to argue. “Go back to where you came from” is the most well-established racial epithet there is. It relies on the assumption that America is white, and those who are not white do not belong, and should leave. It is the core sentiment behind every single neo-nazi and white-nationalist organization in the U.S. There is no honest argument that Trump’s statement is not racist. Thus you have a stadium full of people echoing the the core belief of violent neo-nazi groups.

Today’s current political climate begs the question of whether the Republican party has officially adopted racism as a platform plank. Only 4 Republicans have come out with condemnation of Trump’s statement. Florida Gubernatorial candidate Ron Desantis dog-whistled his supporters, urging voters not to “monkey around” by voting for his black opponent. He won. The Southern Strategy has been reborn as the “Great White Middle” strategy.

Many have heard the chant all the way from their home districts. Steve Daines (R-Montana) is labeling these women Anti-American and Anti-Semitic, but the dogwhistle is heard. He is following a formula of success.

Daines is depending on the voices chanting “send her back” to make this calculation correct. Most Republicans fall short of Daines’s total support for the President’s racist attack, seeking out a middle ground that is disappearing within their own party. A party long comfortable with indirect racist attacks and policies (rooted firmly in the “welfare queen” diatribes of Reagan) is now embracing direct, open racism. While it makes some nervous, like Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who recently wished that “everyone would tone it down,” apparently few in the GOP believe that they can win opposing the President’s racism. Thune’s comment shows this, seeking to equally level blame at both the racists and the targets of their racism. Just as the President did after Charlottesville.

Who’s Leading Who?

It’s clear the Republican party has seized on racial tensions as a way of engaging and energizing their base. The question is whether they are simply seeking to capitalize on race as a wedge issue, or whether they are intentionally seeking to create racial animus in their base.

Both. Without an inherent belief that people of color don’t belong in America, Trump’s tweet meets with outright rejection and condemnation. But inherent fear, hatred, or general indifference don’t flourish when kept in the dark. Having the President of the United States use a racial epithet that has been used against people of color for centuries is an extremely powerful legitimizing force. It is a signal to his base that racism is not only ok, that those that decry it are un-American. After a four-year campaign of dog whistles and winks, Trump has made racism official policy and plank of the Republican party, which might as well be renamed the Trump party.

Which brings us back to the rallies and those that attend them, marked by violence since they began on the campaign trail. We have the Tree of Life shooter, who believed that George Soros and other Jews were financing the caravans of migrants approaching the southern border, something Trump said “would not surprise him.” We have the serial pipe-bomber who targeted a who’s who of Trump’s enemies in the press, whom Trump has consistently vilified as an enemy of the people. We have the pizzagate shooter who believed insane conspiracy theories asserting that Hillary Clinton and campaign chair John Podesta were running a satanic pedophile sex ring. All of these people were ready to kill because of grievances and gripes Trump has had, often based on lies cut from whole cloth.

Since the original posting of this article we had a mass shooting in El Paso, killing 22. The shooter wrote a 4-page screed decrying an immigrant invasion before specifically targeting people of color.

A Pattern Emerging

Once again we have Trump, possibly under the direction and help of his aides, attacking individuals he doesn’t like, casting serious accusations against them, and a crowd all too willing to go along.

It’s little wonder why Democrats are losing — they aren’t even sure what kind of fight they are in. The Mueller testimony and the Quixotic pursuit of Trump’s tax returns are two prime examples. They don’t understand that they are up against a cult. Democrats seeking to show voters that Trump is a fraud, or that he stole an election and tried to cover it up, are making the same mistake as someone using an opinion from the CDC to persuade an Anti-Vaxxer. Evidence merely confirms the existence of the deep state.

Trump has never directly told his audience to kill. He has just told lies, riled up hatred, and watched the events unfold. Simply by suggestion, and a series of dog whistles, he has caused his followers to attempt and commit serial murder.

How long before “send her back” becomes “string ’em up”? All signs point to Trump having a messianic hold on his most ardent supporters. In him, they have found a voice, relevance, and validation of their views. They have stopped seeking common ground and have embraced the “war” against liberals, communists, the press, and anti-Americans in place of any attempt to find common ground.

The “send her back” chant should be a pertinent reminder of the immediate and powerful sway Trump holds over his supporters, and how easily he can put words in their mouths.