The post-Trump future of Trumpism—the celebration of white nationalism, bigotry and sexism—is the New York Young Republicans (NYYR), “the oldest Young Republican club in the United States” with roots tracing back to 1856.
Long, long ago, during the 2016 primary campaign, NYYR members expressed great concern about Donald Trump’s bigoted views, telling The New York Times that Trump was giving people the wrong impression of what the GOP was about, with one woman going so far as to say she would consider voting for Hillary Clinton if Trump ended up as the party’s nominee.
Now, NYYR is all aboard the Trump train, complete with promoting speakers who spew anti-Muslim hate, misogyny, and far-right conspiracy theories. Their official Facebook and Instagram account recently posted a picture of a person flashing the OK hand sign that’s been infamously coopted by the “white power” set.
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Thursday, the group welcomes Pamela Geller, whom the Southern Povery Law Center calls “one of the most flamboyant anti-Muslim activists in the United States.” The Anti-Defamation League describes her as “consistently vilifying the Islamic faith under the guise of fighting radical Islam.”
Geller has called Muslim immigrants “invaders” trying to destroy our nation. No wonder that Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who infamously murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011, praised her in his depraved manifesto that’s since been cited by a host of murderous race-warriors.
Geller despicably described Jewish Americans who denounced her hatemongering as worse than the “Judenrats,” the Jews who assisted the Nazis during World War II. Her views are so hateful that last week the online platform used by the NYYR to sell tickets for her speech, Eventbrite, delisted the event, writing that, “we determined that Pamela Geller engages in or promotes conduct that violates our Community Guidelines.” But the NYYR has continued to promote Geller’s speech on its Twitter account that reads like a salute to Trump, not to America or conservative values.
The invitation was no aberration. Past speakers include Jack Posobiec, the Trumpist conspiracist who once tweeted the white supremacist code “1488”—the ADL explains that the “14” is “shorthand” for the 14-word white supremacist mantra: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children," while “88” “stands for "Heil Hitler" (H being the 8th letter of the alphabet).” He was also one of the people spreading the false “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, and doxed one of the women who bravely came forward to report that Roy Moore had sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager.
NYYR also brought in Mike Cernovich, another Pizzagater who’s said, “I went from libertarian to alt-right after realizing tolerance only went one way and diversity is code for white genocide.”
It’s not only the NYYR. The Proud Boys were in New York City for the infamous attack that several members are now standing trial for thanks to an invite from the Metropolitan Republican Club. New Jersey, where then-GOP Gov. Chris Christie appointed the first Muslim American ever to serve on a state court, just saw a Republican country chair share vile anti-Muslim tweets such as one that called for Americans to “eradicate Islam from every town, city, county and state in our homeland!”
And the Trumpist group Turning Point USA, which tries to draw high school and college students to the right, has also shown members flashing the same white power gesture—and worse. In May, the head of the group’s University of Nevada Las Vegas chapter was caught on video doing the same gesture as he said the words, “white power.” His friend next to him then added, “We’re gonna rule the country…White power, fuck the n---ers.”
Turning Point did cut ties with that chapter leader, but it was hardly the only the the group’s leaders engaged in blatantly racist conduct.
While it’s true that polls show Trump’s support among the 80 million-plus millennials is only at about 27 percent, that’s millions of young people on board with his racism, bigotry and sexism. The alarming reality is that the fight to defeat Trumpism will go on long after Trump is gone. In fact, that battle may never end.
