Star Trek star George Takei has long been vocal about current president-elect Donald Trump’s policies. The actor has been a strong advocate for issues faced by Asian Americans and the LGBTQ+ community and has criticized Trump’s statements regarding the community even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Takei especially referred to Trump’s statements at the time where the latter called it as a ‘Chinese virus’ which the Star Trek actor attributed to various violent attacks on Asian Americans at the time. He particularly spoke about an incident that occurred in Oakland where an elderly Thai man was attacked.
Star Trek‘s George Takei blamed Donald Trump for racializing the COVID-19 pandemic
President-elect Donald Trump won this year’s election against current VP Kamala Harris. One of Trump’s biggest policies to stand on was undocumented immigration and his promises of mass deportation. The president-elect has assured his supporters that one of the first tasks in his hands when assuming office in January would be to carry it out (via BBC).
The controversial policy has no doubt caused significant controversy. From its impact on the economy to the threat of millions of people being taken out of their homes and livelihoods, there have been staunch criticisms regarding the stance. Star Trek actor George Takei too has criticized Trump’s policy now.
Takei has been vocal about his stance against Trump’s statements in the past and has labeled them racist. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Star Trek’s Commander Sulu attributed violence on elderly Asian Americans to the then president’s statements about the virus being a ‘Chinese virus’. He said to The Guardian,
After he racialized the virus, elderly Asian Americans were physically attacked. In Oakland, California, a young man ran to an old Thai man and smacked him down on the sidewalk. His head hit the concrete and he died.
Takei also mentioned in a separate interview with NBC News that there were more instances of violence against Asian Americans after Trump’s statements, including one where a masked Chinese American woman was physically assaulted. He criticized the business mogul’s statements and said that they had real-world consequences.
George Takei fears a rehash of the 1940s with Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans
While Star Trek envisioned a future where people of all races and origins worked together in harmony, George Takei experienced first-hand how that future was still a long way ahead during his childhood. The actor was reportedly very young when his family was sent to internment camps following the Pearl Harbour attack (via The Guardian).
Thousands of Japanese Americans were taken away from their homes and sent to camps as punishment for the Pearl Harbour attack by Japan and were even reportedly forced to forgo their loyalties to the then Emperor of Japan and pledge alliance to the USA. Reparations were given to survivors of the camps, including Takei years later.
After Donald Trump’s re-election this year, George Takei mentioned that he feared a similar dark time may be ahead due to the president-elect’s controversial policies. He said to USA Today,
We’re trying to erase that stain by reminding Americans that we are a government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.’ [Now] we have a former president behaving in the very same way as Roosevelt did.
Many critics have questioned the feasibility of the mass deportation program by Donald Trump especially due to the level of cooperation required by local authorities with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency a.k.a ICE (via BBC).
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