NPR’s Yousef: Trump Admin. Denies Racist Migration Policy, But They Say ‘Western Civilization’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” NPR Domestic Extremism Correspondent Odette Yousef discussed the concept of remigration and said that while the Trump administration rejects or denies, “the European extremist roots of this policy idea” one must “add the context of other terms that this administration has been using, talking about Western values, Western Civilization, chiding European allies for making themselves vulnerable to civilizational suicide or civilizational erasure” which Yousef said some say “is language that sits firmly within the rhetoric of the identitarian and broader white nationalist movement.”

Co-host Ailsa Chang asked, [relevant exchange begins around 4:40] “[W]hat are you hearing, Odette, from White House officials when they are being asked why they are using terms that are adopted by white nationalists?”

Yousef answered, “The White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department all rejected or didn’t acknowledge the European extremist roots of this policy idea when I asked them about it. But I think it’s important, also, to add the context of other terms that this administration has been using, talking about Western values, Western Civilization, chiding European allies for making themselves vulnerable to civilizational suicide or civilizational erasure. [Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism Heidi Beirich] says this is language that sits firmly within the rhetoric of the identitarian and broader white nationalist movement.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett