Former President Donald Trump played a key role in developing the conservative hysteria over critical race theory that continues to run rampant today.
An advanced academic framework, critical race theory examines racism in the United States through the lens of how overtly racist policies of the past remain covertly embedded in American society today, contributing to racial inequalities across economic, political, social, and educational sectors. Republicans have slammed the theory as "racist" and unpatriotic, absurdly claiming that it's taught in secondary schools across the United States in an effort to sow resentment against white people.
In September of his last year in office, Trump ordered a purge of federal agency trainings that supposedly promoted critical race theory. He also introduced the 1776 Commission, a response to journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones' 1619 Project, the controversial New York Times Magazine initiative examining the United States' origins from when the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived on its shores.
Trump's commission sought to emphasize "patriotic" education in America's schools, often at the expense of historical accuracy.
Though Trump lost the election, critical race theory remains a major talking point of conservatives, so it came as no surprise when the former President brought it up at his rally this past weekend in South Carolina.
Watch below.
Trump calls on his supporters to "lay down their very lives" in the fight against critical race theory pic.twitter.com/ZtbOizUDTa
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 13, 2022
Trump told the crowd of his supporters:
"Getting critical race theory out of our schools is not just a matter of values, it's also a matter of national survival. We have no choice. The fate of any nation ultimately depends upon the willingness of its citizens to lay down—and they must do this—lay down their very lives to defend their country. If we allow the Marxists and communists and socialists to teach our children to hate America, there will be no one left to defend our flag or to protect our great country or its freedom."
Trump's calls for his supporters to "lay down their very lives" shouldn't be taken lightly. As the deaths of at least two Trump supporters during the Capitol insurrection proved, there are factions of Trump's voters who are willing to risk their lives if the former President's conspiracy theories demand it.
The critical race theory debate is just one facet of a broader, unfounded anti-intellectual hysteria over the supposed mass indoctrination of children through the public school system. Conservative opposition to this imaginary foe is delivered through increasingly warlike terms. One Republican candidate, Steve Lynch, urged his supporters to gather "20 strong men" and forcibly remove school board members. Far-right Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance said professors are "the enemy," despite his professor at Yale Law School convincing him to write the book that gave him a modicum of relevance in the first place. There are growing calls from Republicans in favor of abolishing the federal Department of Education.
In a controversial letter, the National School Board Association (NSBA) warned of spikes in threats and violence against school board members, imploring the Deparment of Justice to monitor the spike in threats at school board meetings, which the NSBA said, in some instances, could amount to domestic terrorism.
So few are taking lightly Trump's calls for his supporters to sacrifice themselves in the name of critical race theory hysteria.
Whoever is writing this stuff for Trump is on the extreme edge. And to distract from his appalling weakness on Russia, we should expect Trump to dial up his “culture wars” rhetoric.This is so dangerous. https://t.co/L5M2SyE1X6
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) March 13, 2022
You don't "lay down your very lives" by voting in a school board race, or attending a school board meeting, or donating to or campaigning for a school board candidate. In what kind of activity do you "lay down your very lives?"
Violence, that's what kind. He calls for violence. https://t.co/bVbyBYerrA
— Jay Bookman (@jaysbookman) March 14, 2022
This is the kind of language that incites terrorism. https://t.co/QpttOcqyTY
— Dr. Mansa Keita (@rasmansa) March 13, 2022
Just Trump being ridiculous, nothing to see here?
Actually, it’s the standard-bearer of the Right, the political leader of the Republican Party, the likely 2024 GOP presidential candidate, calling for a violent struggle to the death against the enemy within.
It’s alarming. https://t.co/0AK9XJgmop
— Thomas Zimmer (@tzimmer_history) March 14, 2022
Understand that the former president is actually speaking of defending not the "nation," but white supremacy. This dangerous rhetoric could result in violence. The CRT panic isn't about CRT. It's about white supremacy. #TakeNote https://t.co/zzcdSaviSA
— Jazz Fans Against Racism (@AntiRacistJazz) March 13, 2022
Trump. Is teaching his followers to hate America. His speeches are nothing but hate speeches. Enough is enough, from this Insurrectionist, obstructionist, seditionist loser of an ex- president. Arrest him already. He's another Putin on the rise. https://t.co/iyTqh0xEyb
— james tucker (@jamestuckerbea1) March 13, 2022
Some likened Trump to a cult leader.
This is a cult. A cult full of ignorance and hero worship. https://t.co/IuHzsv7OQb
— Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) March 13, 2022
Remember when Jim Jones told his cult to “lay down their lives” and they did. #TrumpCult #PassTheKoolAid https://t.co/mEVfLrbmpJ
— Treat Tweets (@RealTreatTweets) March 14, 2022
Cool. Cult leader Trump calls on his gun toting followers to fight to the literal death to stop the history of blacks in America bring taught in schools.
This is going great. https://t.co/T8dU6oxx4T
— Tom the Dancing Bug, by Ruben Bolling (@RubenBolling) March 13, 2022
Trump isn't expected to deescalate his rhetoric any time soon.