Trump's fake accent angers Asian Americans as they veer left
When Amanda Berg heard reports that President Donald Trump mocked the accents of the leaders of South Korea and Japan at a recent fundraiser, it brought back painful memories from her childhood.
Berg, a Korean American who grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado, recalled kids doing the "stereotypical pulling at the eyes and the mocking accent." It made her feel like she was a foreigner in her own community.
Berg, a registered Democrat, is among a growing and crucial bloc of Asian American voters leaning further to the left in the age of Trump, and his stunt, reported by the New York Post, angered her and many others.
"It empowers people who would be predisposed to doing that kind of thing anyway," said Berg, a high school English teacher in Denver. "And it makes it acceptable to be openly, increasingly discriminating."
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Trump-s-fake-accent-angers-Asian-Americans-as-14368561.php
A Pew Research Center survey said 53% of Asian American registered voters in 1998 identified with the Democratic Party. That figure rose to 65% in 2017.
"They are adding more and more new voters to the electorate," Masuoka said. "Alongside Latino immigrants, they're important for candidates to mobilize."
Asian American voters also could become a key factor in swing states. In Nevada, Asians make up 5% of registered voters and 9% of the eligible voting population. They comprise 5% of registered voters in Virginia and are 6% of the eligible voting population.
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President Trump is facing backlash for mocking South Korean and Japanese officials with faux Asian accents on Friday, according to the New York Post.
At fundraising events in the Hamptons for his 2020 campaign, Trump mocked South Korean leader Moon Jae-in’s accent when “describing how he caved in to Trump’s tough negotiations,” the New York Post wrote. He also imitated Shinzo Abe with a fake Japanese accent when discussing their conversations over trade tariffs.
According to the Rolling Stone, Trump “wasn’t done being politically incorrect or offensive.” He continued to speak about his fascination with Abe’s father, who was a kamikaze pilot. He asked Abe if the pilots were inebriated or drugged — Abe said no, they just love their country.
“Imagine they get in a plane with half a tank of gas and fly into steel ships just for the love of their country!” said Trump.
This wasn’t the first time Trump came under fire for mimicking Asian accents. In February, Twitter users accused him of imitating a Chinese accent when speaking about Xi Jinping’s policies on drugs in China.
“Death penalty. We give death penalty to people that sell drugs. End of problem,” Trump said as an impression of Xi.
The president has also mocked Asian reporters before. In November 2018, a reporter with an accent asked him about the economy after the midterm elections, according to the Huffington Post.
Trump interrupted, “Where are you from?”
When the reporter responded “Japan,” Trump said “Say hello to Shinzo for me.”
The reporter continued to ask the question, but Trump said, “I don’t understand you.”
https://asamnews.com/2019/08/12/trump-mimics-asian-accents-at-hamptons-fundraiser/
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