It may, on the surface, seem like a harmless way to trivialize special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
But to the actual community of witches, President Donald Trump’s constant invocation of a “witch hunt” is deeply problematic and, frankly, a bit hurtful.
“Many are mad, and the rest are rolling their eyes,” said David Salisbury, a lead organizer at Washington-based witch community Firefly House.
Witches are not a constituency with which politicians normally concern themselves. And there’s little sense in the community that Trump actually cares about what they truly think. But for those who practice witchcraft, the president’s words bring up a painful period in history, when men and women were accused of being witches and murdered, both in the American colonies and in Europe.
Actual witch hunts have left what witchcraft author Kitty Randall, who uses the name “Amber K.” in the witching world, calls a “traumatic emotional imprint” on modern-day witches.
“To have him compare his situation to the worst period in our history is just infuriating,” Randall said.
On Twitter, Trump has called the Mueller investigation a “witch hunt” more than 60 times, including four times on Sunday alone. Trump’s supporters have adopted the nomenclature as well, with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich saying Friday that the Mueller investigation is both a witch hunt and a modern return of the Inquisition.
….a persecution of the President.” Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal. Thank you, people are starting to see and understand what this Witch Hunt is all about. Jeff Sessions should be ashamed of himself for allowing this total HOAX to get started in the first place!
Witches view the use of the phrase as more than just a pejorative rhetorical device. They place it, rather, in the larger context of the president demonizing and marginalizing minority groups. According to witches who spoke to The Daily Beast, most contemporary witches are feminists and support other marginalized groups. Salisbury called Trump’s witch hunt tweets “disgraceful,” especially because of Trump’s attacks on immigrants and women.
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