Historically, American isolationism has periodically been one of the banners under which our white Christian supremacist bigots have marched. That certainly was the case with the America First movement that opposed Franklin Roosevelt’s pre–Pearl Harbor aid to Britain and the Soviet Union as they fought for their lives against Hitler’s armed forces. Charles Lindbergh, America First’s leader, made no serious efforts to conceal his pro-German sentiments in that conflict.
Today’s America Firsters bring an even more twisted set of beliefs to their current bromance with Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump’s comments as Russia has invaded Ukraine are particularly revealing. They reveal both his infatuation with leadership based on force, his sense that Putin came through for him and Ukraine’s Zelensky did not, and his complete incomprehension of any of the ideological and legal norms that are at stake.
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