If you caught Joy Reid on Tuesday’s episode of “The ReidOut,” or MSNBC’s special coverage of Donald Trump’s federal arraignment in Florida, you got a bit of an inside scoop as to why the former president may have chosen the Versailles restaurant in Miami to make a post-arraignment appearance.
Having lived in Florida for several years, Joy shared some insight: Versailles is located in a major hub of conservative Cuban Americans and likely Trump supporters. In other words, it’s in an area full of people whose view of government oversight — perhaps informed by experiences abroad — could potentially be manipulated by the former president for his own gain.
Despite the GOP being the party that attacks bodily autonomy through its assault on abortion rights, attacks freedom of thought with its assault on inclusive school curricula, threatens political opponents with extrajudicial imprisonment, and excuses violent insurrections as “legitimate political discourse,” conservatives have tried to frame liberals as the real fascists.
You know, the old “I know you are, but what am I?” technique. Awkwardly, Republicans have tried this tactic even as Trump has repeatedly praised actual fascist leaders around the world.
Trump’s stop at Versailles was just the latest in what seems to be a concerted effort to endear himself to Florida’s conservative Latino community in the wake of his indictment. Trump even gave an interview Monday to right-wing outlet Americano Media — a conspiratorial platform for conservative Latinos.
And right-wing media figures have quickly pushed lines of attack suggesting that Trump and Miami’s Cuban community, which includes many people who fled Fidel Castro’s regime, share the experience of being unfairly targeted by the government. The Cubans in Miami know what this is. They have seen this crap before. LOL. Yes, it’s ridiculous on its face, but sidling up to conservative Cuban Americans and other Latin American conservatives whose families may have their own experiences with repressive leaders appears to be a way for Republicans to launder Latin American and South American history for their own benefit. In doing so, Trump and his supporters can play on these people’s fears by casting him as oppressed. But in reality, Trump is following a playbook perfected by Castro and other illiberal leaders before him: using populist rhetoric in an attempt to bolster his own power and insulate himself from accountability.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. Recommended
