Racists, Conspiracists and Crypto Nuts

Matt Bernardini on Donald Trump's picks to lead his next presidential administration

As Donald Trump announces his picks to lead his next administration, those who are deep in the MAGAsphere will have plenty to cheer about. So far three of Trump’s biggest constituencies: racists, conspiracists and crypto finance bros, appear to have won big and will have a large say in the way America is run for the next four years. Great for them, but for those of us who don’t have a stake in private prisons, quack health supplements or crypto, the next election can’t come soon enough.

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Open Racism

Despite all the support from rich tech bros who support crypto projects and a plethora of anti-vax conspiracy nuts thrown in, Trump’s main message was one of open racism towards immigrants. Since the day he came down the escalator in 2015 to announce his first campaign, Trump’s main target has been immigrants coming over the southern border. While some have questioned how much of Trump’s rhetoric is just to fire up his base for electoral purposes, his cabinet picks and staffers show he is serious about his pledge to begin the largest mass deportation program in history.

The incoming president has named Stephen Miller as his Deputy Chief of Staff. Miller is notorious for his anti-immigration stances, and was one of the architects of the previous Trump administration’s policies that separated children from their parents. He has repeatedly said that America is under an invasion from immigrants and needs to be saved. During the first Trump administration he tried to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which delays deportation for undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children.