Following the tragic aircraft collision in Washington DC on January 29th, convicted felon Donald Trump wasted no time in offering his “condolences”. Or – more accurately put – Trump confirmed our fears over his second term in office by jumping straight to blaming his usual suspects, citing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes as the reason for the crash. His proof? The US President cites ‘common sense.’ 

Clearly, ‘common sense’ as the reason for this crash is completely baseless. Manipulating tragedy as political ammunition against the Democrats is one thing. Still, the more worrying factor lies with the group on the constant receiving end of this swift finger of blame. Time and time again, Trump directs his ire toward LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants and other minority groups, his go-to scapegoats. 

Although, as we know, this is nothing new. From an executive order of a travel ban targeting countries with predominantly Muslim populations at the beginning of his first term in 2017 to a campaign in 2024 targeting trans youth, Trump’s executive order eliminating DEI positions in government is only the latest. 

Trump delivers a fantasised version of hard-right politics that can be tempting to dismiss as the ramblings of a deluded politician, but we can’t afford to be complacent. His words have widespread appeal to a significant sector of the electorate in the US and beyond, allowing these words to increasingly materialise as political reality. It serves as a sharp reminder that the liberal notion of the US as a benign superpower and a progressive beacon of democracy – as much as we have often liked to believe it – has never really been true. Trump has just put it bluntly and made it frighteningly obvious. 

America’s cultural impact globally, especially in the Western world, is immense. When Trump scapegoats already marginalised groups for personal political gain, his rhetoric of hate doesn’t remain a domestic issue. Rather, it globalises intolerance, and Trump’s culture war becomes far greater than merely Republican vs Democrat. It is a fundamental matter of human rights. 

Diminishing the humanity and very existence of LGBTQ+ and minority groups evokes startling historical parallels that should have no place in modern society. Trump takes the lives of millions and reduces their real lived experiences to mere pawns in his game of US conquest, as though America is solely comprised of straight white males. Biden’s warning of a U.S. oligarchy was no idle rambling but a stark warning, with Meta and X enabling such discriminatory commentary to be disseminated as true information without sufficient fact checks. 

Trump seems to like to think he can achieve anything, but there is a limit to what he can legally enact. In an age dominated by globalised media, Trump’s words can often cause as much damage as what he ends up making reality. Now, more than ever, it is important to continue fighting for civil rights and holding Trump accountable.