Mirror, mirror, on the gold-plated wall, who’s the most shameless of them all? Why, it’s the man whose reflection should give him pause before pointing fingers — Donald J. Trump.
The former president who should be frantically googling “self-awareness” before drafting another inflammatory proclamation has instead chosen to channel his energy into his favorite pastime: immigrant demonization. Perhaps if Trump spent half as much time reflecting on his own legal entanglements as he does crafting xenophobic rhetoric, he might notice the colossal irony staring back at him from his marble bathroom fixtures.
The president recently issued a proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month that somehow managed to ignore America’s actual sexual violence crisis while constructing an elaborate immigrant boogeyman.
Trump went as far as accusing the Biden administration of unleashing an “army of gangs and criminal aliens” who, in his words, have turned the U.S. into a dystopian nightmare where women and children are being exploited. He cited a few tragic cases of violent crimes involving undocumented individuals, presenting them as proof of his broader narrative. But here’s the thing: cherry-picking a handful of horrific incidents and pretending they represent a nationwide epidemic is not just intellectually dishonest—it’s morally reprehensible.
According to the United States Sentencing Commission, an overwhelming 96.2% of sexual abuse offenders in 2023 were U.S. citizens. In 2022, it was 94.9%, and in 2021, 95.4%. I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty sure that leaves a very small percentage attributable to non-citizens. The data stubbornly refuses to show any spike in immigrant-led sexual violence.
This isn’t the first time Trump has blamed immigrants for everything short of the apocalypse. Remember when he kicked off his campaign by calling Mexicans “rapists” and “criminals”? Or when he described immigrants as “animals” at a rally? He even falsely claimed that immigrants were “eating pets” in Springfield, Ohio. The man who once bragged about grabbing women “by the p***y” on a hot mic is now posing as a champion for women’s safety. You couldn’t make this up if you tried.
Speaking of which, let’s not forget that Trump was found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll, an advice columnist, in 1996. A jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages—a verdict that Trump, of course, dismissed as a “witch hunt.” Over two dozen women have come forward alleging sexual misconduct by Trump, ranging from harassment to assault. And yet, here he is, pointing fingers at immigrants as if his own hands are spotless.
When the Roman Empire began its decline, Emperor Nero famously blamed Christians for Rome’s burning while allegedly fiddling as flames engulfed the city. In 1930s Germany, economic hardship was blamed on Jewish citizens rather than the actual economic factors at play. During America’s own Red Scare, domestic problems were attributed to Communist infiltration rather than complex social issues. Time and again, history shows us that when leaders seek simple villains for complex problems, vulnerable outsider groups become convenient scapegoats.
Published: Apr 6, 2025 10:45 am