It should be no surprise that protesters at Donald Trump‘s rally in Las Vegas last night (December 14) greeted protesters with accusations of being Muslim, Nazi salutes and intimations of fatal violence. A recent piece from Politico claims that Donald Trump’s racist and xenophobic rhetoric is driving people to white supremacy.
The Politico article cites a number of influential white supremacists who claim that Trump has increased interest in and acceptance of extremist racism. Don Black, founder of the influential white supremacist website Stormfront, said that news on Trump drives spikes in traffic on the website:
Black of Stormfront said Trump’s rhetoric has been a boon to white nationalists. “He has sparked an insurgency and I don’t think it’s going to go away,” he told Politico of Trump.
Black, who said his site receives a million unique visitors a month, said Trump has helped drive a steady increase in traffic in recent months—including 30-40 percent spikes when the businessman makes news on immigration or Muslims—that is compelling him to upgrade his servers.
Politico also quotes Tom Metzger, founder of the White Aryan Resistance, who welcomes Trump’s candidacy even as he has questions about his ability to follow up on promises:
Even those white supremacists who remain unconvinced that Trump is one of them welcome his entrance to the political arena. “As long as he’s causing chaos and havoc with the citizens, he’s fine with me,” said former KKK leader Tom Metzger, founder of the racial separatist group White Aryan Resistance. “I love it.”
But like other white nationalist leaders, Metzger – who served jail time for unlawful assembly for taking part in a cross burning in California—said he was skeptical that Trump would actually follow through on many of the proposals that appeal to them most. That includes the businessman’s latest call to halt the entrance of Muslims into the country. “It’s going to get people excited and it could get out of hand … He’d have to employ the military to do it, and I don’t think they’re going to do that.”