Dinesh D’Souza Brings “Trump’s America” to UWM

Shoes shuffled through a security line in Bolton Hall. Jackets came off, purses were searched and the UWM police officers kept a watchful eye. The UWM College Republicans had a table with free Ronald Reagan posters and calendars. Stickers that stated, “Freedom Not Socialism” sat ready on the table for eager visitors to take and put in their pockets. The climate was tense at moments as people filed into Bolton Hall, room 150.

Controversial conservative filmmaker and commentator Dinesh D’Souza recently made a stop on his Trump’s America Tour to speak on the UW-Milwaukee campus to a crowd of nearly 400 people. The event was sponsored by Young America’s Foundation and College Republicans.

D’Souza stood on the stage with a plain-white backdrop and discussed a variety of topics including his theories on the history of the Democratic Party and its alleged racist roots, the progressive movement, conservative values and his presidential pardon.  The audience was captive and respectful, with moments of applause and laughter. However, his visit did spark non-violent protests from UWM students.

“My grandpa told me not to go over there (America),” D’Souza said. “He said it was too white over here. My uncle told me he wanted to live in America because he wanted to live in a country where the poor people are fat.” 

D’Souza is of Indian descent and became a naturalized citizen in the early 1990s. He is known for his books films about American conservatism and theories. Some of his most notable works include the film, “Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party” and “Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time?” D’Souza pleaded guilty in 2014 to one felony count of making illegal campaign contributions. He was sentenced to five years of probation and eight months in a community confinement center. He was also ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution. He stated that the Obama administration was out to get him. He was pardoned by President Trump last year.

“There is no Indian dream,” said D’Souza. “In India, everything is planned out for you. In America, I am the architect of my own future. In America, your destiny is not given to you, it is constructed by you.”

D’Souza discussed his theories about the Democratic Party and how he believes its officials paint conservatives as bigots and racists.

“The KKK and blackface are creations of the Democratic Party,” said D’Souza.

He went on to discuss that the Democratic Party doesn’t want this to be known so over 50 years ago, they created a different narrative.

“Fake history and fake narratives are a big part of American society today,” said D’Souza.

He discussed his feud with Princeton University history professor and New York Times best-selling author Kevin Kruse, who opposes him. Explain Kruse acknowledges that the Democratic Party was the party of slavery, however they changed with the rise of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. 

“Kevin Kruse sent 150 historians to attack me,” said D’Souza. “They called me an Indian Nazi.”

There have been violent protests on college campuses in the past few years due to conservative commentators speaking on campus.

UWM graduate student and Wisconsin Green Party co-chair Barbara Dahlgren was the author of the letter to Mark Mone. It was signed by approximately 20 other protesters. They also held a protest potluck in the UWM Union prior to D’Souza’s speech.

“He’s a propaganda artist, he’s a film guy, he knows nothing about history,” said Dahlgren. “It’s the conservative base that proclaims this racist narrative, the underlying ideologies are racist, fascist and anti-women.”

Dahlgren doesn’t feel that UWM should give speakers like Dinesh a platform. “It’s not about free speech. It’s hate speech,” said Dahlgren. “If he was talking at a table at the union that would’ve been fine, if he was talking about film that would’ve been fine.”

Dahlgren does not agree with protesting with violence, like protesters at other campuses.

“I don’t wish harm on any of these people,” said Dahlgren. “Both sides are playing the identity politics game.”

D’Souza mentioned Dahlgren’s letter in his presentation.

“That letter doesn’t scare me; it isn’t going to silence me,” said D’Souza. “Conservatives are getting silenced.”  

UWM is apparently a safer place for conservatives, according to the College Republicans.

“I think UWM treats conservatives pretty well; other campuses are not so lucky,” said Andrew Tesmer, a UWM freshman and a member of the UWM College Republicans. “We just want people to speak their ideals. We get along with the College Democrats.”

D’ Souza commented on some struggle conservative student face in college and how  sometimes find themselves in the closet, too afraid to let their peers know about their viewpoints.

“I get worried about the student who gets beaten down because they oppose the progressive narrative,” said D’Souza. “The left is fighting a culture war and the right has abstained.”

Tesmer also commented on the protest from Dahlgren.

“The flier we got last time was a lot worse; nothing will change because of this letter, it is tinder on the fire, but that’s it,” said Tesmer. “There were barely any protesters for Dinesh, so I don’t see any other issues with future speakers.”

D’Souza advised conservative students to not back down to the opposition and to not get caught up with violent protesting on campuses.

“If they don’t let you speak on campus, then speak on the lawn,” said D’Souza. “The left gets away with this all day long, the straightforward approach is always better.”

”The pollution keeps us from having a productive conversation about anything, it is incendiary and damaging,” said D’Souza.

The College Republicans are exploring who their next speaker will be.