No, it wasn't Trump and Trump alone who accelerated it, and I've said on here many times that the media, both sides of government, and ultimately the people of America on both sides have been hopelessly irresponsible in their involvement in the escalation of polarization in your country. However, let me ask you...do you not think the tack that Trump chose to rise to power was a catalyst of sorts? For me his rhetoric set the bar so low that literally anything goes, and the vast majority of what came after has been reactionary. Yes, the media has gone after him like other, but it would appear that's because he provides material like no other. The media has always been there, as have the left and right politicians and voters, yet, from my own recollection, we've never seen the level of divisiveness we've seen, not even under Obama.
So, by way of answering your question, it takes a cast to put on a production, but Trump definitely is the star, and that matters. Case in point, who do you hate more...the guy that punches you in the arm, or the guy that kicks you in the nuts and bangs your wife?
As I said above, I'm not going to debate the racist position, I'm rather enjoying our current civil chat, and talking about racism is what started our brawling...
For what it's worth, to say a place in particular is a **** hole, so long as you're not doing so from a position or office that demands class and global diplomacy, is not racist on it's own, in my opinion. But this wasn't just talking about Haiti... All of Africa was implicated, and if it wasn't intentional, or even subconscious racism, it certainly could be construed as a racist statement, which is why the president of the most power nation in the world should have the brains to refrain from that kind of rhetoric and generalization, in my opinion.
See, I just don't feel that individual acts of stupidity justified by claims of racism means that racism doesn't exist, in the same way that I don't feel that the individual acts of individual asshole spiritual leaders entirely negate the positive contributions of the Church. I don't deny that people muddy the waters by using the issue of racism selfishly to paint themselves as victims to get stuff...it happens, and it's deplorable (that word!), but my reaction is to dismiss the individual, if after trying to understand them I can only conclude that they were acting selfishly, not the cause in general. I don't believe false claims of racism are happening, and I think there are plenty of real world examples where racism happens for real, based on the statistical evidence I have presented to you in the past. And to bring it back to the topic, I think that the leader of a nation should have an adequate sensitivity towards that reality to ensure that at least he or she is "politically correct"...if anyone should be, it's a politician. They are there to represent all the citizens they have power over, and have to at least consider all their concerns and realities.
Rev, I won't blow smoke up your ass, and suggest that it is only one side or the other...if I ever came across that way, I was doing a bad job of communicating. But the role Trump plays in the gong show that has become the political dialogue in America is unique, incendiary, and seemingly out of control. Whatever good he may do (I struggle to see it, but am open to the possibility) is overshadowed by that, in my opinion.