The Trump administration professes to be concerned about hate-motivated violence following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but it is clear that they are using the killing as a pretext to attack political opponents andorganizations that would oppose the administration’s authoritarian advances. Further, the administration and its allied MAGA movement may be helping to foster hate crimes rather than suppress them.

The Trump administration pulled down a National Institutes of Justice report on domestic terrorism on September 13, three days after Kirk’s murder. Apparently, the administration does not want the public to know that far-right violence is more common than far-left. The report concluded the following: “Since 1990, far-right extremists have committed far more ideologically motivated homicides than far-left or radical Islamist extremists, including 227 events that took more than 520 lives.” Other government and non-governmental data provide additional support to the idea that the far-right is more violent.

Figure 1 shows the distribution of hate crimes, which the FBI defines as crimes such as intimidation with threats of violence, property damage, assault, and murder motivated by a bias against a group. In 2024, the most common victims of hate crimes were Black, LGBT+, and Jewish people. There were 3,004 hate crimes reported against Black people, making up 27 percent of all single-bias hate crimes. Anti-LGBT+ hate crimes made up 21 percent and anti-Jewish hate crimes made up 17 percent.

Figure 2 shows a categorization of 533 hate groups compiled by the Southern Poverty Law Center for 2024. The categorization follows a somewhat similar pattern as seen in the hate crime data. The most common hate groups (50 percent) are White racist groups such as White nationalist, neo-Nazi, and Ku Klux Klan groups. (The groups that are anti-Black and also anti-Jewish are counted in both the White Racist and Antisemitic categories.) Anti-LGBTQ+ and Antisemitic groups both made up 18 percent, tied for the second most common target of hate groups. The dominant targets of hate in the United States — Black, LGBT+, and Jewish people — suggest that this extreme hatred is more often coming from the right.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Is the Trump Administration Hostile Toward Black People?

In the wake of the Kirk assassination, many historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) received threats of violence. The day after the killing, theAFRO newspaper reported, “Alabama State University; Hampton University; Clark Atlanta University; Southern University; Bethune-Cookman University; Virginia State University and Spelman College all went on lockdown due to direct threats or ‘potential threats’ to their campuses.” The newspaper added that these events are “part of a longer, disconcerting history of violence and threats aimed at HBCU institutions.” It is not clear why HBCUs would be the target for threats at this time, but they are not a new target for hate.

More generally, the Trump administration may be fostering an anti-Black cultural environment. The Trump administration has taken actions that can be perceived as anti-Black. It ended diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and affirmative action policies in the federal government and pushed for the ending of these policies everywhere beyond the federal government. Federal grant proposals to individuals and organizations that mention a concern for Black people are automatically assumed to be suspect. The same proposal with “White” substituted for “Black” would not receive extra scrutiny. It is removing and whitewashing exhibits and materials on Black history. On the basis of a lie about “White genocide” in South Africa, the administration has adopted an exclusive immigration preference for White Afrikaners This relatively wealthy groupbenefited from the white supremacist system of apartheid. Individuals and groups motivated by anti-Black hate would applaud these actions and could perceive the administration as in agreement with their hatred.

Is the Trump Administration Hostile Toward the LGBTQ+ Community?

The Trump administration can be perceived as more anti-transgender than anti-gay. While the administration gives mixed signals with regard to gay men and lesbians, anti-transgender and anti-nonbinary gender identity rhetoric was a central part of Trump’s re-election campaign. One ad stated, “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.” In Trump’s address to Congress this year, he made negative remarks about transgender people several times. The administration has banned transgender individuals from serving in the military. The administration communicates very strong anti-transgender attitudes that could encourage individuals with anti-transgender hate.

There are gay men in prominent positions in the Trump administration and the MAGA movement – including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and investor Peter Thiel, who donates millions to Republican candidates. This has led some Log Cabin Republicans to argue that gays and lesbians have already achieved full equality. On the other hand, the administration did not recognize Pride month,cancelled Kennedy Center events focused on LGBTQ+ rights, and renamed a US naval vessel that was named after a gay rights activist. The administration does not communicate a singular message about its attitude toward gays and lesbians.

Is the MAGA Movement Opposed to or Supportive of Antisemitism?

Anti-semitism is a real problem in the United States. Figure 1 shows that it is the third most common type of hate crime. The Trump administration likes to talk about it as if it only exists on the left, but it is likely stronger on the right. In fact, President Trump may have helped to mainstream antisemitism on the right.

Trump hosted antisemites Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Nick Fuentes for dinner in 2022. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2024, neo-Nazis and other White supremacists were allowed to mingle with conservatives when they had previously been prevented from attending. More recently, other prominent figures on the right have been giving more support to antisemitism. As one columnist observed, “People like Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan have had no problem giving space to antisemites and, in many cases, advancing antisemitic talking points themselves…… Both Owens and Carlson have had no problem platforming antisemites such as Andrew Tate.” After Kirk’s death, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R- Ga.) wrote, “I hope a foreign country and foreign agents and another religion does not take over Christian Patriotic Turning Point USA” – which the New Republic interpreted as Greene saying that “she doesn’t want Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA to be taken over by Jews.” Greene has a history of antisemitic statements. Additionally, NPR has found that “[m]ultiple Trump White House officials have ties to antisemitic extremists.” Given how much the Trump administration and the MAGA movement are enmeshed in antisemitism, it would be easy for people with anti-Jewish hate to feel that the administration would support their hate.

The Trump administration could very easily clarify its position on hate against Black, LGBTQ+, and Jewish people. It should explicitly condemn hate crimes against these groups and hate groups focused on these populations. If it cares about these populations, it must condemn hate whether it comes from the left or the right.

This first appeared on CEPR.

The post Does the Trump Administration Care About the Most Common Victims of Hate Crimes? appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

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