WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.
A fact sheet on the order promises "immediate action" by the Justice Department to prosecute "terroristic threats, arson, vandalism and violence against American Jews" and marshal all federal resources to combat what it called "the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and streets" since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
"To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you," Trump said in the fact sheet.
"I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before," the president said, echoing a 2024 campaign promise.
Rights groups and legal scholars said the new measure would violate constitutional free speech rights and would likely draw legal challenges.
At least try to understand the mental space of the American voter in 2024.
Children being dismembered and burned alive in front of your eyes and Matt Miller’s skeletal frame wearing a tight skin suit ghoulishly grins at you. Pulling weathered old journalists out of the white house press corp room like gestapo.
American voters had a right to be depressed and feel hopeless. And in that moment they had no sense of more right and more wrong. It is all wrong.
In the words of Elizabeth Wurtzel, "That's the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end.”
You can blame all you want but the hopelessness people were feeling and have been feeling was across the board and deserves to be understood and noted. Because if you mock it now and today, it’s going to bite you tomorrow.
• Young voters (18-29): Support for Democrats dropped significantly, with Harris winning only 54% compared to Biden's 60% in 2020.
• Latino voters: A striking shift towards Trump occurred, with support for Democrats declining by over 20 points in states like Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Michigan.
• Black voters: While still largely supporting Democrats, there was a notable decrease in support, particularly among Black men.
• College-educated white voters: This group, traditionally moving towards Democrats in recent elections, shifted away from Harris in several swing states.
• Urban voters: Harris received two million fewer votes than Biden in predominantly urban counties.
• Suburban voters: Harris got approximately 940,000 fewer votes than Biden in predominantly suburban counties.
• Middle-aged Black women: This traditionally reliable Democratic voting bloc showed decreased motivation to vote.
• Jewish voters: This group demonstrated decreased participation for Democrats.
• Voters under 45 in Pennsylvania: Harris faced significant declines in this age group1. Gen Z voters: Overall turnout for this group decreased from 53% in 2020 to an estimated 42% in 2024.
At least try and understand the headspace Biden’s team created for the democratic party.
(ps an also consider the issue of ballot swapping that seems to also have been a problem in swing states. would any of it have mattered at all? for ref: https://sh.itjust.works/post/31593696/16377502)
edited because my bullet points weren't pointing