Donald Trump has achieved something monumental. Something no other President in recent history has done. He has made America dumber
He’s done this through an incessant simplification of immigration and border security, placing all the policies that pertain to both topics under the concept of “the wall.” This has pushed meaningful policy conversations to the side. Instead, we debate the merits of a fabricated solution to a real problem. As a result, Americans are less informed on substantive issues.
Let’s start with the origins of the wall. The year is 2014—Donald Trump is finalizing his decision to run for president, and his advisors are having a hard time keeping him on message. By this point, senior Trump advisor Steve Bannon already has his sights set on dividing the American public with immigration. But he needed a way to make sure Trump hammered in the point at rallies. Thus, the wall. Take this quote from a January 2019 article in Forbes: “Roger Stone and I [Sam Nunberg] came up with the idea of ‘the Wall,’ and we talked to Steve [Bannon] about it […] It was to make sure he [Trump] talked about immigration.” The wall, in its infantile state, was no more than a mnemonic device used to help Donald Trump stay focused when speaking.
Over time, Trump began to group more and more policies under the wall. Gang violence? Wall. Opioid Crisis? Wall. This resonated with his base, and for good reason. Immigration is an incredibly complex and nuanced topic, and it’s much easier to prescribe a simple solution than to talk about the real problems affecting the nation. But Roger Stone, Sam Nunberg, and Steve Bannon are not immigration experts, they’re political consultants. What began as a method for helping a feeble-minded presidential candidate stay on
I’ve become increasingly worried that this will emerge as a common trend in American discourse. It’s important to note that this is not a new tactic by any means, and that talking points can be very useful to discourse. However, no other policy topic has become so overshadowed by a manufactured crisis and solution as immigration has.
The immediate effect of this is that people stop talking about the issues, and instead debate the fictional pros and cons of whatever the umbrella term of the time may be. Along with this, the Trump administration has continued to create reasons to push the wall on the American public. Should we really be worried about “caravans,” carrying not terrorists, but asylum seekers looking to enter the US in search of a better life? Trump would say yes. He would also, presumably, not be able to begin to describe the asylum process in the U.S.
But, that’s fine. Because, what’s better than policy? A wall.
Kevin Hanley
