When President Donald Trump publicly fantasized about alligators eating immigrants trying to escape from a new Florida detention center, he was echoing words used in the past by avowed racists.
Before a visit to the immigrant detention facility in the Everglades, Trump told reporters that snakes and alligators would attack anyone trying to get out. During the tour, he made another joke about “a lot of cops that are in the form of alligators” at the facility.
Lest anyone think this was just Trump speaking offhandedly, the Florida Republican Party has also begun selling “Alligator Alcatraz” merchandise.
Trump’s remarks were criticized for their performative cruelty. But they were not unique. Allusions to “alligator bait” were made a century ago by Jim Crow-era racist propagandists about African Americans.
If you want a real glimpse into the darkness, google the history of “alligator bait” in America, and Florida specifically. https://t.co/c2LZZXgH4A








