We’ve all heard it before: President Donald Trump’s second term is all about completing his mandate, and to his credit, he’s off to a pretty good start. From enacting mass deportations and signing executive orders to undo constitutional rights all the way down to gutting DEI at the federal level and firing thousands of vetted employees, things seem to be working in his favor, and they have been since he first launched his 2016 bid for presidency.
When “Make Again Great Again” first hit the streets in 2015, critics argued Trump was trying to “white-out” American history. Back in 2019, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi even said “This is about keeping— you know his [MAGA] hat— make America white again.” But clearly, a large percentage of the country believed in Trump’s mandate as they voted him in for a first and second term.
The Root spoke to Rev. William Barber II, who said this time around, Trump is making his message painfully clear: get rid of diversity and preserve white America. “They are afraid of the growing Black and brown majority in this country,” Barber told The Root. “That scares them because they know that by 2035/2040 Black and brown people will basically be in the majority.”
The U.S. population in 2023 was made up of 58 percent white people, 20 percent Latinx, 13 percent Black, and around 6 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, according to the Census. And although white folks are clearly still the majority of America, the Latinx community has now become the fastest growing group in the country.
Also in 2023, the CDC reported birth rates among all Americans were at a record low, and with that, the rate of white American babies also continues to decrease. “For the first time in history, white Americans will not be in the majority in America,” Barber continued.
“They’re afraid of Mexico... it’s not just Mexico, it’s South America,” Barber declared. “They [migrants] come here, but they know that most of them will not vote for extremism. So what they’re trying to do is stop the tide.” Trump has been attacking Southern migration for over a decade. In fact, construction of the Southern border wall was the most notable campaign promise of his first term.
According to the reverend, this is no mistake either. “Notice they never talk about putting a wall up to Black people from Canada or Europe,” he added. Trump’s continuous attacks on immigrants give American people one group to fear and with that, he’s been able to explain his attacks not only on immigration but also on the Constitution.
The president signed an executive order on his first day back in office attacking birthright citizenship, the constitutional right giving automatic citizenship to any person born in the states. Although it was framed as an attack on illegal immigration, the 14th Amendment goes back to slavery. The reverend added “if you get the 14th Amendment, if you mess with it, see it also has another clause, equal protection under law.”
Removing the 14th Amendment, according to Barber “would cause the Constitution to be reborn, because it said every person, not every citizen, every person, is guaranteed equal protection under the law.” With that, Barber argued the president can rewrite— or rewhite— American history as we know it.
Tatsha Robertson, the Editor-in-Chief of The Root, interviewed Rev. Barber