“A hate group is an organization that—based on its official statements or principles, the statements of its leaders, or its activities—has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.” Southern Poverty Law Center.[1]

With that in mind, consider the following statements by the current GOP presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump.

1. On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump repeatedly made explicit racist remarks, from calling Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists, to proposing a ban on all Muslims entering the US, to suggesting a judge should recuse himself from a case solely because of the judge’s Mexican heritage.
2. While in office, Donald Trump referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries” during a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House.
3. Trump has used terms such as “animal” and “rabid” to describe Black district attorneys.
4. During his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump baselessly accused Haitian residents of Salem, OH of being “in the United States illegally” (they are not) and of eating the pets of white residents (for which there is no evidence). As a result, numerous bomb threats have been made against schools and civic centers.

I honestly cannot see what more we need to classify the Republican Party as a hate group. I can understand the reluctance to do so. We are not talking about a fringe group, but one of America’s two major political parties. The danger of further polarizing the country is real and substantial. But more substantial than the danger of polarization is the danger of putting in power a party that has vowed to use the power of the national guard, local authorities and even the United States armed forces to carry out the “largest deportation program in American history”[2] against legal residents of the United States for crimes that they did not commit. And don’t think it will stop there. Trump has vowed that, once elected, he will “root out” his political opponents “like vermin.”[3] What does he mean by that? Maybe the same thing Adolph Hitler and Bonito Mussolini meant when they said it.

Think I am being hysterical? Let us focus on what cannot be disputed, namely, that the candidates at the top of the GOP ticket are spreading incendiary lies about an ethnic minority, thereby inciting acts of intimidation and threats of violence against them. And lest there be any doubt about the falsity of the claims made against Haitian residents of Salem 1) the mayor and the chief of police both say emphatically that the Haitian residents of the town are present legally; 2) that Haitian residents hold jobs, own businesses and pay taxes; 3) there are no reports of Haitians eating anyone’s pets.[4] Furthermore, Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance admitted in a publicly televised interview that he made up the stories about Haitian immigrants eating family pets to get media attention.[5]

Enough is enough. It is time to stop pretending that the GOP is a benign political party vigorously participating in a healthy democracy. It is time to stop waiting for the Republican ship to right itself. You might just as well wait for the KKK to institute a program of cultural diversity. I hereby call upon the Southern Poverty Law Center to declare the Republican Party a hate group subject to monitoring and reporting. I further call upon all bishops, priests, pastors and church leaders to denounce specifically by way of public statements and from every pulpit the racist incitement of Donald Trump, J.D. Vance and the GOP, making clear that nobody associating with a political party spewing racist hate can claim to be a disciple of Jesus.   

Still think you can afford to ignore Republican attacks on Haitian residents of Salam, Ohio? Do you think none of this pertains to you? Do you imagine that you can safely stick to voting your pocket book and fixating on “kitchen table issues” and to hell with the rest? Then I invite you to reflect on these words of Martin Niemöller, a pastor, teacher and theologhian imprisoned under the Third Reich. What Republicans do to Haitians, Mexicans and the other groups they don’t like they can just as easily do to you.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

This Quotation from Martin Niemöller is on display in the Permanent Exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  You can find out more about Martin Niemöller by visiting the site for the Holocaust Encyclopedia.   

---

[1] Southern Poverty Law Center website.

[2] See Republican Platform 2024.

[3] See “Trump compares political opponents to ‘vermin’ who he will ‘root out,’ alarming historians,” BySoo Rin Kim and Lalee Ibssa, ABC News, November 13, 2023

[4]  See interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, Rob Rue, mayor of Springfield, Ohio.

[5] See report by Luke Garrett, NPR 9/15/2024. In response to information refuting claims of Haitians eating dogs and cats, Vance replied: “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”