The New York Times
Sunday
Mr. Trump, Meet a Hero You Maligned
By NICHOLAS KRISTOF
In 1885, a poor, uneducated 16-year-old boy arrived in our country
from Germany at a time when immigrants were often looked down on by
affluent Americans.
This boy was ambitious and entrepreneurial, and, despite language
problems, he earned some money and then traveled up to the Klondike
during the gold rush to operate a hotel that became notorious for
prostitution. He prospered, and today his grandson is President Trump.
After Germany became an enemy in World War I, the Trump family was
embarrassed enough about its heritage that it claimed to be from
Sweden instead. President Trump himself repeated this lie in his 1987
book, ''The Art of the Deal.''
Yet Trump hypocritically joined the modern Know-Nothings by reportedly
railing against immigrants from ''shithole countries'' like Haiti and
those in Africa. He favored admitting white people over black people
-- which is just the latest incident in a four-decade record of his
racial epithets and discrimination.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, I carefully reviewed Trump's
race-related history, including the 1,021 pages of legal documents
from racial discrimination suits against him, and the evidence is
devastating. We should be careful about tossing around the word
''racist,'' and any one incident can be misconstrued. But in Trump's
case, we have a consistent, 40-year pattern of insults and
discrimination, and I don't see what else we can call him but a
racist.
It's true, of course, that some African countries are in wretched
shape and that some immigrants from poor countries arrive uneducated
and end up, along with homegrown Americans, in dubious trades. But
careful, Mr. President, given your own grandfather's history.
More important, the toxic disparagement of immigrants tarnishes heroes
like Emmanuel Mensah, 28, a New Yorker who came from the West African
country of Ghana and joined the Army National Guard.
Then a couple of weeks ago, when he was back from training, a fire
broke out in Mensah's Bronx building. Mensah easily saved himself, but
then rushed back into the burning building to rescue others. Three
times he rushed in and out, bringing out four people.
Then Mensah dashed toward the flames again and reached the fourth
floor in a desperate effort to save a fifth person. This brave soul
from what Trump would describe as an s-hole country, the kind of
person Trump was insulting, never made it out. Mensah's body was found
high in the building's wreckage.
A few days ago, the Army posthumously awarded Mensah the Soldier's
Medal, its highest award for heroism outside of combat, and New York
State awarded him its Medal for Valor. The citation on the state medal
reads: ''His courageous and selfless act in the face of unimaginable
conditions are consistent with the highest traditions of uniformed
service.''
Who better embodies our nation's values? A politician with a history
of racist comments who took five deferments to escape military duty in
the Vietnam War, including one for heel spurs? Or a heroic Ghanaian
immigrant and soldier who dies in a fire while rescuing others?
Most of us recognize that immigration is complex and that we cannot
throw open our borders, but also that newcomers enrich us. That is
true not only of Norwegians but also of penniless refugees from
impoverished, war-torn countries, such as my father -- a
Polish-Armenian fleeing Eastern Europe, whose first purchase in the
U.S. was a Sunday New York Times to teach himself English.
Trump once showed a willingness to be big-hearted to immigrants who
break the rules: He married Melania, a Slovenian who came to the U.S.
on a visitor visa and then earned money as a model before she was
authorized to work, according to an investigation by The Associated
Press.
If only Trump could show a similar compassion to unauthorized
immigrants who don't look like Melania. In particular, his decision to
send Salvadorans back, in the face of murderous gang violence in that
country, and his rejection of a bipartisan deal to protect DACA
''Dreamers,'' simply seem cruel.
So what can we do?
Obviously, we need to stand up to racist xenophobia even when it
emanates from the White House -- particularly when it emanates from
the White House -- and in addition, if Americans are looking for a
constructive way to respond, here's a suggestion: Donate to an
immigrant rights organization like the National Immigration Law
Center, or to an aid group that works with people whom our president
just insulted.
I've seen firsthand and admired the work of two American aid
organizations that save lives in Haiti from tuberculosis, cervical
cancer and more. They are Partners in Health and Innovating Health
International. Both are working heroically on the front lines to save
the lives of ordinary Haitians, particularly women.
It seems to me that a fine, practical response to racism is to help save a life.
I'm delighted to announce that the winner of my 2018 win-a-trip
contest, to take a university student with me on a reporting trip, is
Tyler Pager, a graduate of Northwestern University now studying at
Oxford. The runner-up is Diana Kruzman of the University of Southern
California. Thanks to the hundreds of students who applied, and
special appreciation to the Center for Global Development in
Washington for helping screen applicants.
I invite you to sign up for my free, twice-weekly email newsletter.
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and follow me on Twitter (@NickKristof).
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