Does Trump's Presidency Affect Hate Crime Rates?

Imagine, it’s November 9th, 2016 in the United States. Donald Trump was just elected president. You’re walking down the street and see “Trump Train!” spray-painted on the outsides of buildings. You hear someone scream, “Go back to your country!” and you assume it’s aimed at you. You turn around and see an angry white man headed toward you, so you speed up, fearing that he’ll rip your hijab off.

A lot of people are inclined to think that racism and hate crimes aren’t a big deal anymore. The public associates hate crimes in recent history with the 1950’s. However, statistics show that since Trump won the presidency, they have been on the rise. There were 6,121 hate crime incidents recorded in 2016, an almost 5 percent rise from 2015 and a 10 percent increase from 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hate Crimes Statistics report said. (Reuters). There is a large rise from 2014 to 2015, which is when Trump announced his candidacy.

One of the most targeted groups is Muslims. A study by Pew Research Center shows that assaults against Muslim-Americans in 2016 have far passed the ones in 2001. Attacks went from 56 in 2014 to 91 in 2015 to 127 in 2016- the highest it’s ever been. Keep in mind, these are only assaults that have been reported to the FBI. (Pew Research Center). If we follow the same pattern, attacks on Muslims will continue to rise with Trump’s presidency. A new “holiday” has even been created by Trump’s fans. April 3rd has been dubbed, “Punish a Muslim Day”. Several of my Muslim friends were too scared to go outside or wear their hijabs. Not a word from Trump. Not even 24 hours after Trump won the election, the Muslim Student Association prayer room at NYU had been desecrated with simply “Trump!” in permanent marker. (Twitter).

The second main group of people that Donald Trump targets is Mexicans. He infamously said during his campaign, “When Mexico is sending its people, they’re not sending their best… They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” His anti-latino rhetoric inspired many to “take matters into their own hands” and commit hate crimes.