Thread by @AOC

Virtually every policy Trump pursues works to steal public money & personally enrich himself & his friends.

💰Gutting National Monuments pays ➡️ Fossil Fuel CEOs
💰Border concentration camps pay ➡️ Private Prison CEOs
💰Betsy DeVos pays ➡️ loan sharks

It’s always about the con.

https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1168658724875055104

Since corruption isn’t popular policy, racism works as the cover for the con. That’s why addressing racism isn’t a “distraction” - it’s key to understanding the hustle against working people.

Culturally, racism is used as the unspoken cudgel against pro-working class policy. /2

For example:

By rallying support for super racist immigration policies, (Muslim Ban, concentration camps,etc), supporters look the other way at the billions of public dollars going to private prison CEOs - who then kick some that 💰 back to Trump (ex. his inaugural committee)
/3

The corruption of Trump - of many admins - wouldn’t be politically possible without relying on sympathy for racist policies.

That’s what Reagan’s Black “welfare queen” was all about, too.

If people think they’re “paying for someone else,” they’ll dismantle their own healthcare.

Beyond the moral wrong, racism is a powerful political tool used to dismantle public goods & civil rights.

So long as bigoted sympathies exist (subtly or loud), they will be used. That’s why convincing people racism is a sidenote,&not broad or institutional, is a strategic move.