His speech — titled “What Is an American?” — articulated a political vision that’s not so far removed from that of racist organizations like Return to the Land, a white nationalist group that is trying to establish a whites-only community in Arkansas and has sought to expand its footprint to Schmitt’s home state. The senator denounced fellow conservatives who support legal migration, accusing them of aiding immigrants who he baselessly claimed “take the jobs, salaries and futures that should belong to our own children.” Invoking the image of a violent mob, he claimed the MAGA movement is “a pitchfork revolution, driven by the millions of Americans who felt that they were turning into strangers in their own country.” He talked at various points about the U.S. being “our birthright,” as “a nation of settlers, explorers and pioneers”; about “the real American nation,” represented by Donald Trump and his movement; and about “we Americans … the sons and daughters of the Christian pilgrims that poured out from Europe’s shores to baptize a new world in their ancient faith.” As writer Philip Bump explained with data in a recent blog post, this racist, whitewashed claim conveniently excludes non-European immigrants — both those who came voluntarily and those, like enslaved Africans, who did not — whose brilliance and backbreaking labor, along with those of Native tribes, literally built the United States.
Author: Ja'han Jones
Published at: 2025-09-03 21:40:03
Still want to read the full version? Full article
