Tag Archives: #Debate

Arab Americans angry with Biden should note Trump’s use of ‘Palestinian’ as a slur

This op-ed was published by The National on June 30, 2024

Since the Gaza conflict, critics of US President Joe Biden, particularly Arab and Muslim Americans, insist that he can no longer be viewed as a “lesser of two evils” because of his support for Israel’s savage war of vengeance. But this stinging case against Mr. Biden doesn’t actually render him indistinguishable from his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump’s words ought to remind everyone that he advocates policies and spews much more repugnant hateful rhetoric. It’s reasonable to be angry with the President, but not to refuse to see the clear difference with Mr. Trump.

In particular, Mr. Trump’s use of the word “Palestinian” as an insult, aiming to render its target unacceptable and disreputable, cannot be ignored. It is new and especially repugnant since innocent Palestinians are being killed in unprecedented numbers by Israeli occupation forces. Innocent Palestinians – although not, of course, Hamas – deserve sympathy, support and protection from a terrible onslaught. Using their identity as a schoolyard taunt displays crassness and inhumanity.

There’s been limited pushback from Arab and Muslim Americans about this outrageous and disgraceful conduct, aimed squarely at our very identity, because of an ongoing effort to convince community members that Mr. Biden is unworthy of support, and to at least stay home. But, what would the reaction have been if Mr. Biden, particularly given his Gaza policies, began using “Palestinian” as a free-floating and transferable insult in American political schoolyard bullying?

In the most embarrassingly terrible presidential debate in US history last Thursday, Mr. Trump scolded Mr. Biden that he should “let them [Israel] finish the job” in Gaza. But, he argued, Mr Biden “doesn’t want to do that” because “he’s become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian, a very weak one”.

It was one of dozens of moments in which the former president provided Mr. Biden an obvious opening for counterattack, virtually all of which the sitting President inexplicably failed to take. But the scandalous insult largely faded into the background amid widespread incredulity about the ineffectiveness of Mr. Biden’s bumbling and confused performance, which seemed to reinforce the most damaging characterizations of him.

Mr Trump quickly moved to dispel any doubts or arguments that he was using “Palestinian” as a bigoted political epithet, when he immediately repeated the intended insult against another of his favourite targets, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

The day after the debate, last Friday, Mr Trump hurled “Palestinian” as an insult against Mr Schumer, telling a rally audience: “I know Schumer. He’s become a Palestinian. He’s a Palestinian now. Congratulations … He’s Jewish. But he’s become a Palestinian because they have a couple of more votes or something.” Obviously, though, we don’t.

Mr. Trump was presumably referring to Mr. Schumer’s speech in March, in which he accurately described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “an obstacle to peace”, and urged immediate new Israeli elections to replace him.

The implications are clear: Mr Trump wants everyone to know that he’s more anti-Palestinian than any Democrat, including Mr Biden and Schumer; wants a more brutal Israeli war in Gaza; views Mr Biden’s policies as unduly constraining of Israel; and that any blunt criticism of Mr Netanyahu renders even a lifelong Jewish-American supporter of Israel a “Palestinian”.

Moreover, according to Mr Trump’s racist worldview, being a Palestinian is plainly inherently a bad thing. It’s particularly objectionable to be a “weak Palestinian”, making one a “bad Palestinian”, but his rhetoric plainly identifies “Palestinian” a particularly bad thing to both be and to be called.

Meanwhile, it’s finally become clear, after weeks of typical incoherence on the Gaza war, that Mr Trump considers Mr Biden indefensibly “weak” in support of Israel and holding it back from attacking Gaza even more intensely.

Palestinians have now joined migrants as a particularly stigmatised identity group, to be targeted by Mr Trump’s shocking hate-filled rhetoric during this phase of his second effort for a second term.

The two issues effectively dovetail in Mr Trump’s rhetorical landscape because one of his earliest positions in this campaign was a promise to bring back the “Muslim ban” prohibitions on entry into the US by nationals of more than a dozen countries, almost all Muslim-majority. This bigoted policy was a key feature of the incompetent and chaotic first months of his presidency, but it was eventually imposed after some adjustments, including the removal of Iraqis.

The bottom line is obvious. Many Arab and Muslim Americans, their friends and family, and supporters around the world are justifiably outraged by Mr. Biden’s policies towards Gaza, which for months emphasized conflict containment over conflict mitigation or resolution.

This misguided approach indirectly implicated Washington in numerous Israeli outrages and alleged war crimes, which damaged American regional interests and global reputation. That has changed over time, because of growing administration concern that Israel was going too far for US interests.

Such outrage is justifiable. The Biden administration adopted a rational but amoral policy that essentially accepted unacceptable levels of civilian death and suffering in Gaza in order to achieve the strategic goal of preventing conflict from spreading, particularly into Lebanon, thereby possibly dragging the US and Iran into a widespread regional war.

This op-ed was published by The National on June 30, 2024

Since the Gaza conflict, critics of US President Joe Biden, particularly Arab and Muslim Americans, insist that he can no longer be viewed as a “lesser of two evils” because of his support for Israel’s savage war of vengeance. But this stinging case against Mr. Biden doesn’t actually render him indistinguishable from his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump’s words ought to remind everyone that he advocates policies and spews much more repugnant hateful rhetoric. It’s reasonable to be angry with the President, but not to refuse to see the clear difference with Mr. Trump.

In particular, Mr. Trump’s use of the word “Palestinian” as an insult, aiming to render its target unacceptable and disreputable, cannot be ignored. It is new and especially repugnant since innocent Palestinians are being killed in unprecedented numbers by Israeli occupation forces. Innocent Palestinians – although not, of course, Hamas – deserve sympathy, support and protection from a terrible onslaught. Using their identity as a schoolyard taunt displays crassness and inhumanity.

There’s been limited pushback from Arab and Muslim Americans about this outrageous and disgraceful conduct, aimed squarely at our very identity, because of an ongoing effort to convince community members that Mr. Biden is unworthy of support, and to at least stay home. But, what would the reaction have been if Mr. Biden, particularly given his Gaza policies, began using “Palestinian” as a free-floating and transferable insult in American political schoolyard bullying?

In the most embarrassingly terrible presidential debate in US history last Thursday, Mr. Trump scolded Mr. Biden that he should “let them [Israel] finish the job” in Gaza. But, he argued, Mr Biden “doesn’t want to do that” because “he’s become like a Palestinian, but they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian, a very weak one”.

It was one of dozens of moments in which the former president provided Mr. Biden an obvious opening for counterattack, virtually all of which the sitting President inexplicably failed to take. But the scandalous insult largely faded into the background amid widespread incredulity about the ineffectiveness of Mr. Biden’s bumbling and confused performance, which seemed to reinforce the most damaging characterizations of him.

Mr Trump quickly moved to dispel any doubts or arguments that he was using “Palestinian” as a bigoted political epithet, when he immediately repeated the intended insult against another of his favourite targets, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

The day after the debate, last Friday, Mr Trump hurled “Palestinian” as an insult against Mr Schumer, telling a rally audience: “I know Schumer. He’s become a Palestinian. He’s a Palestinian now. Congratulations … He’s Jewish. But he’s become a Palestinian because they have a couple of more votes or something.” Obviously, though, we don’t.

Mr. Trump was presumably referring to Mr. Schumer’s speech in March, in which he accurately described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “an obstacle to peace”, and urged immediate new Israeli elections to replace him.

The implications are clear: Mr Trump wants everyone to know that he’s more anti-Palestinian than any Democrat, including Mr Biden and Schumer; wants a more brutal Israeli war in Gaza; views Mr Biden’s policies as unduly constraining of Israel; and that any blunt criticism of Mr Netanyahu renders even a lifelong Jewish-American supporter of Israel a “Palestinian”.

Moreover, according to Mr Trump’s racist worldview, being a Palestinian is plainly inherently a bad thing. It’s particularly objectionable to be a “weak Palestinian”, making one a “bad Palestinian”, but his rhetoric plainly identifies “Palestinian” a particularly bad thing to both be and to be called.

Meanwhile, it’s finally become clear, after weeks of typical incoherence on the Gaza war, that Mr Trump considers Mr Biden indefensibly “weak” in support of Israel and holding it back from attacking Gaza even more intensely.

Palestinians have now joined migrants as a particularly stigmatised identity group, to be targeted by Mr Trump’s shocking hate-filled rhetoric during this phase of his second effort for a second term.

The two issues effectively dovetail in Mr Trump’s rhetorical landscape because one of his earliest positions in this campaign was a promise to bring back the “Muslim ban” prohibitions on entry into the US by nationals of more than a dozen countries, almost all Muslim-majority. This bigoted policy was a key feature of the incompetent and chaotic first months of his presidency, but it was eventually imposed after some adjustments, including the removal of Iraqis.

The bottom line is obvious. Many Arab and Muslim Americans, their friends and family, and supporters around the world are justifiably outraged by Mr. Biden’s policies towards Gaza, which for months emphasized conflict containment over conflict mitigation or resolution.

This misguided approach indirectly implicated Washington in numerous Israeli outrages and alleged war crimes, which damaged American regional interests and global reputation. That has changed over time, because of growing administration concern that Israel was going too far for US interests.

Such outrage is justifiable. The Biden administration adopted a rational but amoral policy that essentially accepted unacceptable levels of civilian death and suffering in Gaza in order to achieve the strategic goal of preventing conflict from spreading, particularly into Lebanon, thereby possibly dragging the US and Iran into a widespread regional war.

But Mr. Trump has made it clear that he would go further in supporting Israeli attacks in Gaza; he has demonstrated that he views the very term “Palestinian” as a potent slur to smear adversaries; and that he still intends to prevent as many nationals of Muslim-majority countries as possible from entering the US.

Mr. Biden’s Gaza policy was misguided and remains certainly objectionable. His wretched performance at the “debate” raises significant doubts about his acuity. But Arab and Muslim Americans can only help Mr. Trump by voting for him or a third-party candidate, or just staying home in November, because of the mistaken conclusion that Mr. Biden is not preferable in any meaningful way.

Given their obvious, well-founded and near-consensus perspectives, Arab and Muslim Americans, in fact, have no rational choice but to do their best to prevent a second term for a man who thinks calling someone “Palestinian” is one of the worst insults he can muster these days.

This week’s Biden-Trump presidential debate could be the most significant in US history

This op-ed was published by The National on June 25, 2024

The American commentariat is virtually unanimous that Thursday night’s first presidential election debate between US President Joe Biden and former president and convicted felon Donald Trump is potentially the most significant since the very first one held in 1960 between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

While these candidates are extremely well known to the public, both require a breakthrough moment in what has been a remarkably steady and even campaign. But if neither achieves a noteworthy success, or falls into one of the pitfalls yawning before them, it’s also possible that nothing will happen to significantly shift this race.

There are several unique characteristics to this week’s debate.

It will be the first between a sitting president and a former incumbent. It’s the first in decades to be handled purely by a single news organization, CNN, rather than an independent national commission (which Trump has refused to work with). And it involves by far the oldest presumptive presidential candidates (both will be formally anointed at their party conventions next month) who are well over 75 (Mr. Biden is 81 and Trump is 78). It’s also the earliest debate in any presidential election campaign, because Mr. Biden is an essentially unchallenged incumbent and Trump was able to secure his party leadership with no effective opposition.

The campaign is now in full swing, even though the conventions lie ahead, and in the run-up, Trump held a narrow lead nationally and in crucial swing states. However, as the campaign has gained pace and, especially, after Trump’s conviction on all 34 felony counts in the Manhattan adult film star hush money trial, Mr. Biden has gained noticeable ground, and is now leading very narrowly in the most recent polls.

But the campaign remains balanced on a knife edge. Neither candidate has clearly developed a winning coalition or decisive edge over the other, and both will be looking for a breakthrough moment of some sort.

Trump, in particular, needs that. Despite his continued popularity among Republicans and gains among non-college educated African-American and Latino males, the momentum, such as it is, appears to be with the President, who also enjoys the distinct advantage of incumbency. But Trump, too, is running as a kind of incumbent, and the outcome probably boils down to which of the two unpopular and uninspiring men proves to be the dominant focus of attention.

A de facto referendum on either candidate probably secures victory for the other.

It’s no mystery that both candidates need to overcome negative assumptions about themselves. American voters are rarely moved by policy arguments, but rather respond to atmospherics, general impressions, likability and respectability. On both counts, each man must, above all, avoid pitfalls.

Republicans have painted the President, who is undoubtedly showing his age, as senile and incompetent. If Mr. Biden can repeat his performance at the State of the Union address in January, in which he looked engaged, fully competent and even sprightly, especially during rhetorical sparring with Republicans, he will probably have had a good night. It’s imperative that he does not come across as confused or bewildered, although voters may be patient with some rhetorical stumbling.

Trump, by contrast, will have to control himself. He is more given to extreme rhetorical outbursts and excesses of outrage than he already was in the past, and if he comes across as overly aggressive, boorish and obnoxious – as he did in his debates with Mr. Biden four years ago – he could sustain considerable damage.

If, on the other hand, he is able to remain calm and controlled – and especially refuses to rise to the bait that Mr. Biden certainly should be judiciously throwing at him or bristle at uncomfortable questions from the moderators – he could reassure voters that he’s not as unhinged as he often appears these days. He must also avoid the strange rambling that he appears to be increasingly given to at both public and, as widely reported, private appearances.

The President will need to goad his opponent without unduly mocking or appearing to cynically provoke him. The former president must absorb these taunts, and incontrovertible facts such as his status as a convicted criminal, without appearing to lose control of his emotions or respond with transparently crude and preposterous lies.

Trump continues to run as an outsider, even though he’s commanded a major party for almost a decade and served as president for four years. That presents him with the opportunity to continue to challenge the system, but if he appears ready to run roughshod over it or dismiss the Constitution when convenient, he will confirm many of the worst fears about his political evolution. Mr. Biden, by contrast, will have to defend the constitutional system without seeming to apologize for structures that unduly advantage the few over the many.

The debate provides a golden opportunity for the President to keep harping on a few key facts that can refute widespread misapprehensions that the economy under his leadership is in a recession (in fact, by most measures, it is exceptionally robust), or that crime is at unknown and rising highs (in the main, it isn’t).

Trump has the opportunity to reinforce the nostalgia many voters appear to feel about his presidency and avoid being stung by reminders of the failures, particularly during the worst year of the Covid-19 pandemic, that contributed heavily to his defeat four years ago. And he’s certainly going to have to resist relitigating the 2020 election or harping on conspiracy theories that few swing voters believe and fewer still consider relevant to the next four years.

But most of all, both men must avoid significantly reinforcing the stereotypes that haunt them: that Mr. Biden is a virtually senile servant of an unjust status quo, and that Trump is a mentally unstable would-be authoritarian.

Atmospherics and general impressions will be key. If either man strongly reinforces these impressions, it could be disastrous. But if both avoid the pitfalls, little may change. Nonetheless, this has all the makings of one of the most consequential presidential debates in US history.

Anyone interested in US politics must watch it carefully. But remember: style will prevail over substance, and general impressions or breakthrough moments will, as always, carry the day.