There have been two shootings of people of Indian origin in recent days. President Trump reacted by talking about the victims, while also expressing sympathy for the perpetrators: “I saw the pictures. These people don’t look like Americans. I don’t know. They look like the terrorists. Real Americans feel very insecure. We’re trying to deport these people so there will be less to shoot.” The President did not appear to know that some of the victims were U.S. citizens.
Trump also said that he’s developing a plan to deal with this type of crime. The plan would support “trans-ethnic” treatments; that is, surgically and chemically changing skin color and features to make people “look more like real Americans”. He cited Michael Jackson’s efforts at bleaching his skin indicating that “this could be a great way to go for blacks and Indians.” Senior Advisor Steven Bannon added that “Asians would also need surgery”. Bannon compared it with transgender treatments saying that “if people really feel like Americans in their hearts, they should want to look like Americans too.”
The President also suggested genetic research focusing on appearance and skin color saying “Even if there’s no hope for these people, maybe we can make their kids look more American”.
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Early reaction of Congressional Republicans to Trump’s plan for trans-ethnic treatments was mixed. While many favored the approach, there was disagreement over how to pay for it. Since the program would be oriented towards ethnic minorities, taxes aligned with minority businesses and occupations were being considered.
Among those taxes were a surcharge on goods sold at convenience stores, licensing fees on drivers for taxi and ride services, agricultural workers, housekeepers, landscapers and restaurant workers, as well as taxes on nail salons and laundry services.
Since many Republicans have signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” from Americans for Tax Reform, any increase in tax revenues would have to be done in a way that does not contradict the pledge.
Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform said that “targeted fees that are associated with the group that benefits from them” would not necessarily violate the pledge. However, he cautioned that this would only be true if the net effect of the fees is a “lowering of income for the workers and not an increase in prices at restaurants or landscaping services”.
