Donald Trump's Name Is Being Invoked to Heckle Minorities
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's name was recently used as a chant intended to intimidate minority players during a high school basketball game in Iowa, a sign of how closely the GOP front-runner is associated with anti-immigrant sentiment.
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The chant was used against basketball players for Perry High School, which stands out for its diversity in a state that is 92 percent white.
"We are really more of an urban school in a rural setting" principal Dan Marburger told NBC-affiliate WHOtv. "Here at the high school, we are 48 percent minority."
The players on Perry's basketball team reflect that diversity, and during a matchup against another local team on February 22, opposing fans reportedly heckled the players by chanting Trump's name, reminding them of the candidate's plans to deport illegal immigrants and their children.
WHOtv - whotv.com
"We are all aware of racism," Perry student Kevin Lopez said. "It's alive and well in small portions — but it's alive and well — and it's just hurtful to see that's what they resort to."
According to the WHOtv report, the opposing school — Dallas Center-Grimes — is aware of the racist chants, but has declined to comment on what, if any, disciplinary actions have been taken.
How Did Trump's Name Become Synonymous With Racism?
Trump is strongly associated with his controversial policies regarding immigration, especially among Hispanic voters. His proposals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and build a giant wall along the U.S.-Mexico border have put him behind all other Republican candidates in terms of favorability among Hispanic voters, according to a survey conducted by The Washington Post and Univision.
Nevertheless, that same survey found that Hispanic voters would be more likely to support Trump than Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who is of Cuban descent.
Washington Post / Univision - washingtonpost.com
Trump's "favorability" is also exceptionally low among former Mexican Presidents.
While the explicit use of Trump's name as a xenophobic taunting mechanism appears to be a recent development, his anti-immigration policy (not just with regard to South American immigrants, but also with Muslims) has seemed to earn him the support of a particular thread of racist Americans, including an endorsement from former KKK leader David Duke.
