Introduction
Donald Trump is barring communists and Marxists from entering the country. That’s at least what he’s threatened to do. The 77 year old republican presidential candidate has said that he would use
use “Section 212 (f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act” to “order my government to deny entry to all communists and Marxists”.
In an earlier article I did on the cold war 2 I actually predicted that such a thing could happen.
In this article i’ll be explaining three reasons why Donald Trump is trying to ban communists and Marxists from entering the United States of America.
Context
This isn’t the first time Trump’s done something like this. During his first term in office he barred travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. During a campaign announcement on Saturday he said that “We’re going to keep foreign, Christian-hating communists, Marxists and socialists out of America”. He also said there needs to be a “new law” to address communists and Marxists who grew up in America. He hasn’t yet elaborated on what that’ll be.
Why Is He Trying To Ban Communists And Marxists?
The real question is why is Trump doing this when, in a country of 332 million, only 15’000 people are officially communist. Boiled down, it comes down to three factors.
International Pressures
Trump sense a looming cold war with China. China is massively associated with Communism. By decrying the ideology, Trump is positioning himself as the warrior president who will save America from their eastern adversary.
There are practical considerations here as well. Bates Gill, an executive director of the Centre for China analysis at the Asia Society said: “In essence you would be banning the elite of China from entering the United States,” he said. “It would be vast and sweeping and of course highly damaging to the relationship with China.”
This comes as no surprise. It was Trump that began a trade war with China. Should he come into power than its quite likely that relations will only get worse.
Boosting His Public Relations
Theres much to gather from Trump’s use of language. He has openly pledged to use “Section 212 (f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act” to “order my government to deny entry to all communists and Marxists”.
Psychologically, the phrase is a knock out. He is presenting himself as anti-immigration, pro nationalist and anti communist and Marxist all in one line. For his target audience, this is a master stroke. They’re gona fricking love this. They want a strong white man, who stands up for the nation and prevents foreign and communist influence seeping in.
I gotta get in touch with Trump’s campaign manager. Whoever they are, they’re doing a phenomenal job.
Domestic Factors
There are a whole range of domestic factors that Trump is ticking off in making this statement. You’ve got to bear in mind that Trump is being backed by funders whose greatest fear are workers unions and strikes. For them, Trump is an influencer who they can use to dissuade workers from considering any such action.
Trump is also using the language to smear his democratic rivals. Hours after pleading not guilty in federal court, Trump told a crowd of his followers in his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, that Biden, “together with a band of his closest thugs, misfits and Marxists, tried to destroy American democracy”
This is hilarious man. Joe Biden!? Comrade Joe. That famous communist. Mate I’m telling you. When people look at the world’s most notorious communists, it goes Mao, Stalin and Joe Biden. In that order! With Joe being the most communist. That’s the list dude. That’s the communist icons in a nutshell (sarcasm unlimited here).
Trump may also be doing it to detract from all the attention he’s getting from the FBI and Department of Justice over leaked audios of him allegedly boasting about possessing still classified military documents about Iran after he left the White house.
Conclusion
Despite having warned of America slipping into a “Third World Marxist Regime” there’s no real evidence of this happening.
Yes, the Marxist party had gained an additional 2-3 thousand more members in the last year, but in a country of 332 million this is hardly a cause for concern.
I genuinely think this is Trump doing PR more so than anything else. He’s framing himself as an almost 1950s, McCarthyist-American hero and it makes sense as there are many parallels between the period we’re going through now and the period the world went through in the late 40s and 50s. Let’s just hope it doesn’t result in anything more serious.