“All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching.”
–Donald Trump, 22 October 2019

Within a few hours after President Trump’s tweet, some of his most ardent supporters were posting about Democratic hypocrisy. Video of Joe Biden and other Democrats describing the 1998 impeachment efforts against President Bill Clinton as a “lynching’ surfaced. Yet the critical thinking skills I teach to my students about the importance of socio-historical context was missing from the commentary.

Citing the lack of critical thinking skills of some of Trump’s supporters is neither an attack on the President nor the Republican party.  Instead, I am using Trump’s tweet as a case study to demonstrate the importance of socio-historical context when history is used to comment on contemporary political issues.  Democrats and individuals from other political ideologies have also been equally guilty of taking an ahistorical approach in their comments on a variety of issues. The problem in endemic in contemporary American political discourse.

I teach my students that we need to understand the historical period in which a comment was made. Biden’s metaphor was consistent with language being used across America in 1998. I am sure that he gave little thought to the historical roots of the lynching metaphor.

However, understanding the historical context as to why Biden and other Democrats—including African American Democrats—would use “lynching” as a metaphor in 1998 does not mean that we should excuse or minimize those comments. Understanding does not equate with approval.  I understand why the Aztec’s would rip the still beating heart out of a sacrificial victim. Yet, I do not approve of their conduct. Nor would the argument that “The Aztec’s did it” justify such sacrificial practices being conducted today. 

I agree with Biden’s 2019 assessment that “Impeachment is not ‘lynching,’ it is part of our Constitution.”  I also agree with Biden that “Our country has a dark, shameful history with lynching, and to even think about making this comparison is abhorrent. It’s despicable.” This analysis applies to Biden’s own comments from 1998 as well as Trump’s tweet in 2019. What Biden said in 1998 was both abhorrent and despicable. While Biden’s 1998 reference to lynching is understandable, it is also inexcusable.

Just because Biden and other Democrats used the term “lynching” in 1998 does not make it acceptable for Trump to use the term today.  Nor does it justify labeling Biden as a hypocrite. During any 21 year period, we should all have positive changes in our worldviews.

Although I do not intend to teach Trump’s “lynching” tweet this semester, the skills I teach students about critical analysis help them realize that the charge of Democratic hypocrisy is a red herring meant to distract from the President’s comments; comments that give us insight into Trump’s thought processes in 2019.

I realize that some of the individuals who are gleefully posting about the 1998 lynching comments made by Biden and other Democrats would be quick to accuse me of being a liberal professor who is trying to indoctrinate his students. On one level, they are correct.  I am trying to indoctrinate my students—regardless of political ideology—to not fall for a misuse of history to advance their political positions. It is the type of indoctrination that advances students’ transformative education and leads to better political discourse.

–Steven L. Berg, PhD

Postscript: This essay was scheduled for publication on Thursday, 24 October 2019. Ironically, because of a problem caused by the company who handled my Internet security, I was offline from October 24-27.

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