| President Trump’s Truth Social account recently posted an image depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes. The action prompted outcry over the racist trope. The White House deleted the post, and Trump deflected the blame to an aide. Scholars and civil rights advocates, steeped in the language and aesthetics of white nationalism, find the post to be part of an overtly racist trope. They say it fits a year-long pattern where extremist rhetoric, visual material and other media have found their way into public messaging from federal agencies.
➡️ The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is behind the most notable examples of extremist themes in federal messages, some extremist researchers say. The agency has generated a body of propaganda in its effort to recruit large numbers of new federal agents.
➡️ Researchers cite the characterization of immigration as an "invasion," federal calls to "defend the homeland" and the promotion of "remigration" as examples where the administration has mainstreamed once-fringe concepts.
➡️ The Trump administration dismissed connections between its messages and white nationalist movements. A DHS spokesperson suggested NPR is "manufacturing outrage" when responding to questions about the connections. |