Wow. Donald Trump totally just called himself a “nationalist” at a rally in Houston on Monday night.
In case you can’t bear to hear that voice anymore, here’s the quote:
“A globalist is a person who wants the globe to do well, frankly not caring about our country so much. And you know what? We can’t have that. You know, they have a word, it sort of became old-fashioned. It’s called a nationalist. And I say really? We’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, OK? I’m a nationalist.”
It’s not that the word is “old-fashioned.” It’s that it’s a BAD thing.
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Let’s ignore the historical connotations for just a moment and focus simply on the definition.
The difference between patriotism and nationalism is like the difference between someone being “confident” and being “arrogant.” One is good, the other is bad.
He’s right that globalism is the desire for the entire world to do well. Patriotism is the desire for the U.S. to do well. Nationalism is the desire for the U.S. to do well at the expense of other nations.
The President is supposed to be working WITH other countries for the betterment of all, not announcing his intention to fight the world. This is textbook stuff this fifth grade level POTUS clearly never got to.
Nationalism’s connotation has indeed gotten worse over the years as we’ve had a big, bad example of it on the national stage — the Nazis. Nationalism was their whole thing.
Hence being against immigrants and “impure” races.
The same messages Trump consistently sends when he refers to immigrants as animals and talks about “s**thole countries.”
And now of course Neo-Nazis refer to themselves as “white nationalists” as they march through the streets with Nazi flags chanting about “blood and soil.”
So, yes, it’s not a good look for the President of the United States of America.
If you’re as upset as we are, check out some of the toughest Twitter reactions (below):
We’ll let a real Republican patriot finish this one out: