There is a colloquialism often said in the black community when it comes to deciding whether to attend a social gathering: “Who's there?”
opinion columnist
LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson writes about culture, politics, sports, and living life in America.
Playwright Torie Wiggins, who recently wrote a play with the same title, said: “It really speaks to the level of comfort someone has in dominant spaces. …It just means, what am I about to walk into? Am I ready?”
I wonder if the Puerto Ricans who attended Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday were prepared to hear the territory called “garbage island.” I wonder if the black attendees were willing to hear watermelon jokes or listen to Dr. Phil talk about the hard work it took to build this country…not to mention the transatlantic slave trade or the institution of slavery. Were the women who attended prepared to hear the misogyny? Were queer conservatives prepared for homophobia and transphobia?
In these last days before the elections, when approximately 80 million Americans are considering voting for Trump, do you know who is in MAGA-land?
Because while one may be prone to not take Trump's rhetoric too seriously, the reality is that many of his followers do. And sometimes they appear in spaces with more than just red baseball caps and racist jokes. Heavily armed militiamen and radicalized lone wolves are also hearing the violent threats directed at teachers, women, immigrants, librarians, LGBTQ+ Americans, journalists, moderate Republicans, doctors, Democrats, election workers, “RINOs,” people of color, members of Congress. Trump told a white nationalist group that he was willing to kill for him: “stand back and wait.”
You might be tempted to dismiss this as just talk. It is not.
Violence between a Trump voter and a poll worker in Texas occurred on the first day of early voting this year in San Antonio. In 2019, a gunman killed 25 people in El Paso, saying that “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion” and that immigrants were trying to replace whites. Apparently, the 2017 clash between white supremacists and civil rights protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, where “Unite the Right” protesters chanted “Jews will not replace us” and where a woman was killed, was a precursor to what would come, not a one-time event.
Yes, Trump rallies are sometimes attended by people of color. Many women support the former president. There are LGBTQ+ people and immigrants who support it. However, in MAGA-land, your membership has restrictions.
MAGA is a space that temporarily tolerates those who are different, for the sake of votes in a close election. But Trump and his surrogates celebrate only supporters who represent the homogeneous image of America that Trump has long imagined: American-born, straight white Christians who put Trump above God and country. And as in any space where one is simply tolerated, as soon as one's usefulness expires, the tolerance ends.
“Who is there?” It is not simply a question of who is present. It is about the energy of space. Who is embraced and who is weakly attached. Martin Niemöller, Lutheran pastor, is known for writing the poem “First they came”about the slippery slope by which most Germans allowed the Nazis to take power in the 1930s and 1940s. What is less talked about is that he initially supported the rise of Adolf Hitler. The hatred that welled up wasn't directed at him…at first. “Then they came looking for me,” Niemöller wrote, “and there was no one left to speak for me.”
I wonder how confident many Trump-leaning voters are that the MAGA movement's vision for America will ultimately include them. You can't expect a response from Trump. “Who is there?” It's not about the host; it's about attendees setting the mood at the party.
In Trump's first campaign, he received endorsements from the KKK newspaper and courted Holocaust deniers. In 2022, he dined with Holocaust deniers. In 2024, Trump made Tucker Carlson the face of the “final argument” rally at Madison Square Garden, just after Carlson promoted a Holocaust denier on his show. So if you want to know who's out there in MAGA-land, there's part of your answer.
These are the people who want to eliminate the Department of Education, this is the movement that banned “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Never forget that the Republicans are just throwing the party, it's MAGA that's showing up.
On the other hand, look who shows up for Harris.
Days before Vice President Kamala Harris and former first lady Michelle Obama joined forces at a rally in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Saturday, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), national co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign, met with A small group of supporters had lunch at a restaurant not far from Western Michigan University. There were students who voted for the first time, as well as community members who were still somewhat undecided about Harris.
“When you look at politicians you can trust, politicians you wonder whether or not you can believe the words they say, I can tell you that every time he says he's going to lift as he climbs, he means it because he has been lifting with me while she's been climbing,” Crockett said. “This is someone who will randomly call me to inspire and encourage me, even as acting vice president.”
Crockett's story is very similar to one that a former South Carolina state representative, Bakari Sellers, shared on a Zoom call at the beginning of Harris' campaign. He said Harris visited him and his family frequently as they dealt with a complicated pregnancy.
AND that The story of compassion is very similar to how President Obama characterized Harris on a Zoom call with voters on Sunday, the day of Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden.
Harris herself met with Latino voters in Philadelphia on Sunday to talk about her economic plan to help middle-class families.
For me, the question of who to vote for is almost a distraction. The vote is a single act on a single day. Any candidate can be tolerated for a day or even an election cycle. What happens next is what counts.
How can you know what will happen? Just look at both sides and ask: “Who is there?”
@LZGranderson
