I don’t know whose “ancestors” Donald Trump was referring to when he said that they “tamed a continent,” but certainly not mine—nor those of the other hundreds of millions of Americans whose ancestry is not European (pdf).
On Friday at a Naval Academy commencement address, your president gleefully proclaimed that “our ancestors tamed a continent,” adding that “we are not going to apologize for America,” because why would a decent human being apologize for genocide or refrain from calling human beings savages (i.e., those who need to be “tamed”)?
“Together there is nothing Americans can’t do, absolutely nothing,” Trump told the more than 1,000 graduates. “In recent years, and even decades, too many people have forgotten that truth. They’ve forgotten that our ancestors trounced an empire, tamed a continent and triumphed over the worst evils in history.”
He added: “America is the greatest fighting force for peace, justice and freedom in the history of the world. We have become a lot stronger lately. We are not going to apologize for America. We are going to stand up for America.”
As Newsweek reports, Native Americans occupied the land “discovered” by Europeans but were forced to relinquish territory through traditional and biological warfare as “new Americans” pushed westward as part of what was termed “manifest destiny.” In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which led to the deaths of thousands of Native Americans.
Trump has regularly praised Jackson and also has repeatedly referred to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has claimed Native American heritage, as “Pocahontas.”
“A nation must have pride in its history to have confidence in its future,” Trump said Friday. The president’s comments on taming a place mirrored a tweet he sent out in March celebrating National Agriculture Day.
“Our nation was founded by farmers,” he wrote. “And our continent was tamed by farmers.”
Just in case you didn’t think this warmongering maniac was delusional, peep his parting words to the grads:
“We are witnessing the great reawakening of the American spirit and of American might,” he said. “We have rediscovered our identity, regained our stride and we’re proud again.”
They should have walked out on his ass like the Notre Dame students did to Vice President Mike Pence.