Attendees play with balloons after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump officially accepted the Republican nomination for president on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty
Republicans offered their latest confirmation this week that they have no qualms about platforming racists and people with unabashedly racist pasts.
That truth revealed itself yet again on Thursday during the final night of the Republican National Convention (RNC), where a parade of white men took the stage to shamelessly engage in anti-Black rhetoric and dog whistling cloaked as a message of conservative unity.
In fact, that was happening all week long as Republicans gathered at the RNC in Milwaukee, and NewsOne has the receipts to prove it.
Racism at the RNC
In particular, Republicans seemed to intentionally mispronounce Vice President Kamala Harris’ first name in a likely attempt to racially fearmonger as Democrats reportedly pressure President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 election – a move that would make the vice president the presumptive Democratic nominee.
But that was just the tip of the racist RNC iceberg as Republicans reveled in the dog whistling.
Aside from trotting out Black Republicans who critics have called GOP “props” on the convention’s opening night to defend Donald Trump against valid and accurate claims of racism, the RNC went on to remind America how they really feel about Black people and other racial minorities.
That includes showing convention-goers on Wednesday night video footage from a pro-Palestinian protest on the campus of the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss. The video went viral in part because it showed a white student directing monkey noises toward a Black student – footage that was shown at the RNC in a video presentation.
It can’t be ignored that when the video first went viral in May, Republican Congressman Mike Collins of Georgia praised the behavior as “Ole Miss taking care of business.”
Biden campaign senior spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told NewsOne that footage is on par for the racist course embraced by Republicans.
“The video elevated by Trump and his RNC is beneath the office of the President, and it’s proof that their empty pandering to voters of color is nothing more than lip service to paper over decades of racism,” Chitika said.
RNC organizers followed that up one night later by inviting Hulk Hogan to deliver a speech even though the disgraced former professional wrestler was caught on leaked audio spewing anti-Black hatred and using the N-word. Yes, Hogan has since apologized, but, as evidenced by how warmly he was welcomed at the RNC, it appears that only Republicans have forgiven him.
Professional entertainer and wrestler Hulk Hogan speaks on stage on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty
Other people who have openly used the N-word were also featured at the RNC, including Kid Rock, who notably used the racist slur multiple times about a Black artist in a Rolling Stone interview in May.
Alina Habba, the attorney who failed at defending Trump during his historic hush money conviction in June, also spoke at the RNC despite — or because –she was sued for repeatedly saying the N-word at her place of employment and calling New York Attorney General Letitia James a “Black b-tch.” Not coincidentally, Habba was recently rewarded by being named a senior adviser to Trump‘s presidential campaign.
Not to be outdone, the revelation that Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance’s wife is Indian sparked some of the most widely racist responses from MAGA World, Donald Trump’s primary base of supporters.
“Great Replacement Theory”
We also can’t forget about Republicans championing the racist so-called “Great Replacement Theory” during their speech invoking the politics of racial fear.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Congressmen Mike Johnson and Steve Scalise all pushed that racist narrative in their speeches, particularly as it pertained to immigration.
Notably, Cruz parroted Trump’s baseless claims that Democrats are allowing migrants to illegally enter the U.S. so they can vote for him.
“It happened because Democrats cynically decided they wanted votes from illegals more than they wanted to protect our children,” Cruz claimed without any proof.
On Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The topic of DEI – a term that critics say Republicans have used interchangeably with the N-word – and the war against so-called “wokeness” were also in the RNC crosshairs this week as conservatives continued trying to discredit Black and brown people’s achievements.
Such hate-fueled commentary came from Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, among others.
Notably, Haley posted on X, formerly Twitter, right around the time of her RNC speech that “young people are being indoctrinated to think our country is racist and evil” because of DEI. Of course, Haley offered no proof of her claim.
Vice President Kamala Harris
Republicans also took steps to mispronounce Vice President Harris’ first name, a classic dog whistling technique that is designed to separate instead of promote unity – something that GOP leaders said was supposed to be happening at the RNC following the failed assassination of Trump last weekend.
Multiple RNC speakers did not say Harris’ first name the was it is commonly known to be said in a display of both disrespect to one of the most powerful people in the U.S. That includes people like Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, whose disdain for Black women is well documented.
None of the above is a coincidence, Chitika told NewsOne.
“Donald Trump promised unity at his convention. Instead, he delivered bigotry, division, and straight-up racism that turned dog whistles into bullhorns,” Chitika said.
This is America.
SEE ALSO:
‘If You Don’t Vote Donald Trump, You Ain’t Black,’ Michigan Rep. John James Says At RNC
Van Jones Praises Amber Rose’s RNC Speech, Predicts Her ‘Political Future’
