Led by Trump, GOP candidates take polarizing stances on race and history

The Republican Party, under President Trump’s leadership, has increasingly taken a polarizing approach to race and history. The party’s stance on sensitive topics such as immigrant rights, confederate monuments, and police brutality has become hard-line and uncompromising. For example, in 2017, President Trump issued an executive order protecting confederate monuments. The order expanded protections for monuments, memorials, and streets re-named after confederate figures. Subsequently, many Republican legislators passed laws limiting or even criminalizing the removal of these monuments and symbols. More recently, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Republicans have taken a firm stance against the Black Lives Matter movement. While many Republicans have offered supportive words, they have also resisted calls to defund police departments and focus funding instead on social programs that benefit disenfranchised communities. In addition, the Republican party has been actively attacking the idea of “critical race theory,” a school of thought that explores racial injustice and investigates ways to reverse its consequences. Unfortunately, many Republican politicians view the theory as a form of “anti-American” propaganda. Overall, Republican candidates and politicians have taken a strong stance on race and history. While some positions are more nuanced than others, they have been united in opposing the idea of structural racism and revising our nation’s history. This has created a political divide that has further polarized the nation.