Donald Trump’s ‘Racialized Rhetoric’ Criticized By Top-Ranking Clergy Of The Washington National Cathedral
A group of leaders of the National Cathedral has written an editorial criticizing Donald Trump for language they deem racist.
In a blog post on the Cathedral’s website, The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington; The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Dean of Washington National Cathedral; and The Rev. Canon Kelly Brown Douglas, Canon Theologian of Washington National Cathedral, invoke the words of U.S. Army attorney Joseph Welch.
“Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. … You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”
Welch was, at the time, confronting Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, who for years prior had terrorized Americans with his push to weed out “anti-Americans” and “communists.” But the three clerics write that the same could be asked of the country at-large under Trump: “Have we no decency?” they write.
“We have come to accept a level of insult and abuse in political discourse that violates each person’s sacred identity as a child of God. We have come to accept as normal a steady stream of language and accusations coming from the highest office in the land that plays to racist elements in society.”
DC's National Cathedral Condemns Trump's Racism As His "Clarion Call To Action" For White Supremacists – https://t.co/atS0B5haFA pic.twitter.com/bnVcFzw9al
— JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) July 31, 2019
The council then provided some specific examples of Trump’s rhetoric that they deem racist. For example, there are Trump’s recent insults towards Al Sharpton and Elijah Cummings. There was the time Trump referred to African nations as “s**thole countries.” There were his insults against the entire city of Baltimore, with its predominantly African-American population.
Further, the council accused Trump of using so-called “dog whistles,” that is, the use of buzzwords or code words designed to be specifically understood by a certain group of people, in this case, white supremacists.
The council called on Americans to “boldly stand witness against the bigotry, hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia that is hurled at us,” to say that it won’t be tolerated, and to stand against it at all times.
This is not the first time the leadership of the National Cathedral has not seen eye to eye with the Trump administration. Back in March, as reported at the time by The Inquisitr, the Cathedral’s leadership had to remind Trump that it did not need the president’s permission to hold John McCain’s funeral there.
The National Cathedral is not government property, and its leadership is not composed of government employees. Rather, it’s the American Cathedral of the Episcopal Church. However, it is often used ceremonially for religion-related public affairs, such as state funerals.
