You hit the important points in your thoughtful piece. One I would like to add is the role the mainstream media played in building up extremist right-wing groups like the neo-Nazis. In their eagerness to tar President Trump with the charge of antisemitism and racism they gave a platform to extremist groups who loved the unbelievable bonanza of free publicity.
The white supremacist groups have hoped (vainly) that they could co-opt the new conservative and nationalist mood of the country under Trump to their brands of racism, and since the mainstream media was already saying outright on their endless panels that Trump was a “nazi” the media partnered with the extremist right to further both their agendas. So, we had the spectacle of Richard Spencer doing his “Hail Trump” nazi-style salute for the CNN cameras. The neo-Nazis were thrilled at the exposure. CNN was thrilled at the damage they thought they were doing to Trump.
What they were actually doing was stirring the pot of antisemitism, emboldening extremists, and boosting interest in extremist groups. Trump and the conservative Right are actually bulwarks against antisemitism.
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