Why Do People Want To Come Here If It’s So Horrible?

The contradiction at the heart of Trump’s bigoted bullshit.

Donald Trump at the ABC debate.

There will be many debate wrap-ups. Most will say (accurately) that Harris won, and that Trump looked like a confused rabid orange bag of mouldering potatoes and hate. Some will go over Trump’s many (many (many, holy shit)) lies. Some will point out that it is a shameful embarrassment for our country that this man is this close to winning the presidency again.

I do not necessarily have a ton to add to that. But I did want to just point out one consistent, depressing contradiction that is central to Trump’s campaign, and which he doesn’t get called on much.

In Trump’s closing statement, he announced that “we are a failing nation”—one of his core themes throughout the debate. He also excoriated Biden and Harris for “allowing millions of people to come into our country”—again a core theme of his campaign.

Trump generally argues that we are failing because we are allowing too much immigration. But if you think about this for even a minute, it makes no sense. People do not immigrate in large numbers to countries that are failing, for the very simple reason that (given any choice at all) immigrants want to go someplace where they will be safe and where they will be able to earn a living. If the United States were truly failing, it would have a major problem with outmigration, as people fled wars, violence, chaos, and economic destitution.

This isn’t to say that the US has no problems. Of course it has many problems, not least the current surging fascist movement which may well win the presidency in November. But in general, the last few years under Biden have seen a booming economy and steeply falling crime. People from less stable places with less job growth are interested in coming to the US for security and a chance to build a new life. That’s what’s driving immigration.

Trump doesn’t understand that because he doesn’t think of immigrants as human beings, and because he doesn’t really think of Americans as human beings either. Trump has little sense of what is happening in the world, and little sense of what motivates anyone other than Donald Trump. He knows that he wants the US to be doing badly, because he is not in charge, and he hates it when he’s not in charge and things go well. He knows he wants to demagogue immigrants.

And that’s really the entirety of his thought on the matter. He has no interest in trying to say things that approximate reality; he has not interest in trying to understand cause and effect. He has no interest in anyone else trying to build a better life for themselves. None of that matters. He just turns the spigot and vomits out hate.

That hate is corrosive. It’s also a lie. Rather than blaming immigrants for things being bad, we should acknowledge that the things that encourage immigration are the same things that make people’s lives here better: low unemployment, a strong economy, labor protections, safety for all—including, and especially, for marginalized people.

Immigrants are no different than anyone else, and Trump’s hatred of immigrants is part and parcel of his hatred of everyone. He loathes prosperity; he loathes happiness, he loathes it when anyone is doing well except for one, Donald Trump. He demonstrated that again at the debate. If we elect him, he will harm everyone he can. That’s his one promise, and he will deliver on it.