Shortly before the mid-term elections, President Donald Trump rattled the opposing cages by stating that he was “nationalist,” leaving the bulk of Democrats and left-leaning foreign nationals pointing to the terms historical association to Nazism and white nationalism
Trump, who has been preaching a America First Agenda since first announcing a run for president, takes every opportunity to point out that his American nationalism is fully embraced by everyday Americans.
“You know, they have a word, it sort of became old-fashioned. It’s called a nationalist…
“And I say, ‘Really? We’re not supposed to use that word,’” Trump continued. “You know what I am? I’m a nationalist. OK? I’m a nationalist.”-President Trump
In a recent interview with The Guardian newspaper, Hillary Clinton focuses on the immigration problem Europe is facing, and stated that Europeans needed to fix the problem because if they didn’t, they would see more “nationalism” arise, a clear reference to Trump and Britain’s Brexit.
"I think Europe needs to get a handle on migration because that is what lit the flame.”-Hillary Clinton
France’s Macron disagreed with Trump’s statement, saying that “nationalism” was a “betrayal of patriotism. As you can imagine, Trump had to respond to Macron.
The problem is that Emmanuel suffers from a very low Approval Rating in France, 26%, and an unemployment rate of almost 10%. He was just trying to get onto another subject. By the way, there is no country more Nationalist than France, very proud people-and rightfully so!........
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
While the likes of Clinton and Macron countered his“nationalist” remark, American politicians defended Trump.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio, one of Trump’s 2016 presidential primary opponents, said that the president was “right to embrace the label ‘nationalist.”
“President Trump is right to embrace the label ‘nationalist,’ because a true American nationalism isn’t about a national identity based on race, religion or ethnicity.”-Sen. Marco Rubio
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of nationalism is "loyalty and devotion to a nation."
