GOP front-runner Donald Trump is known for being outspoken in his campaign to be the Republican nominee for U.S. president. That same blunt style is being used to recruit terrorists as well. Trump’s inflammatory anti-immigrant messages are being employed in al Qaeda recruitment videos, according to multiple media outlets.
Why use voice excerpts from Trump’s campaign speeches, interviews and press conferences? To show potential jihadist recruits how much Americans hate Muslims and create a call to arms for potential Muslim activists already living in the United States.
The video is believed by the State Department to have been created by al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, in order to show Muslims that Americans are in fact racist and will eventually turn against Muslims. The footage also features the late black Muslim leader Malcolm X, along with Donald Trump’s voice.
Terrorist groups using Islam as a tool to maintain jihadist efforts against Western society is one way al Qaeda and al-Shabaab have twisted words to meet agendas. However, there is not much need to jumble Trump’s words to spark interest in potential terrorist recruits already within the country’s borders.
It seems crystal clear: Donald Trump’s message to Americans after the San Bernardino shooting was a call for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.” Trump has also been outspoken about heavier surveillance around mosques and the development of a database to track all Muslims living in the United States.
It’s yet another Trump public relations boost in the media, but this one may cost American lives down the road. Though the footage of the al Qaeda recruitment video can only be confirmed by a few sources as authentic, the focus does appear to be a call to Muslims already living in America to arm themselves. This could worsen the country’s current security situation.
On CBS’ Face The Nation, Trump commented that, “They use other people, too. What am I going to do? I have to say what I have to say.”
Speaking out about Muslim terrorists is well within Trump’s rights as an American, but some discretion needs to be shown if you are running for president. Tactfulness is an important attribute to possess as president, but Trump may be lacking in such virtues.
What will Donald Trump say next, and how might it be used to benefit terrorist agendas?
—The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/al_shabaab.html
http://www.donaldjtrump.com/media/extended-interview-donald-trump-january-3rd
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Rr3kD75uM
