Earlier this month, Charmed actress and advocate Alyssa Milano made some disruptive comments regarding Trump’s merch.

“The red MAGA hat is the new white hood,” tweeted the actress, before being confronted by a huge backlash. People were furious that Milano would compare their leader to something so unspeakable. But when minorities are being attacked and murdered for the cause of Making America Great Again, it’s hardly the palest comparison.

Even non-Trump supporters were quick to call out “ridiculous”, “PC” Milano for her ‘extreme’ remarks, but they only highlight how much of America is currently in denial, brainwashed, or ignorant to the damage being caused by POTUS: these are likely scenarios for people who are not minorities, and believe that homophobia, transphobia and racism is a less common occurrence than it is – because they don’t witness it in their daily lives.

Empire star Jussie Smollett was savagely lynched in a sandwich shop in Chicago this week. He was doused in bleach, had a noose put around his neck and suffered fractured ribs. He’s a celebrity and the attack took place in public. The men responsible left him there, shouting “this is MAGA country” after calling him a “faggot, n*gger”; they wanted him to know that this is their country; as they fled the scene in their invincible armour.

This isn’t the first racist or homophobic incident of its kind where the perpetrators have hailed their terrorist God Trump either. Only last week, a hoard of students in MAGA hats filmed and mocked a Native American in public.

Back in October, a ‘MAGA bomber’ planted a series of a pipe bombs to attack Trump’s opponents. On both of these occasions, Trump has publicly sided with his supporters citing “fake news” for perpetuating myths about the motivations and reasoning behind them.

In April of last year, a 28-year-old man opened fire on a mosque in Quebec City, Toronto. He’d spent hours scouring the internet for internet on Trump, the alt-right and conspiracy theorists before the attack.

And let’s not ignore the fact, that the KKK is still active in 22 states, and saw a surge in membership in 2017 – a year after Trump took the presidency. Back in the late 80s, Linda Gordon – a history professor at NYU – claims, “[the KKK] used torture and murder (especially lynching), as well as economic coercion, not only to punish individuals who seemed to challenge white power but also to terrorise the whole black population”.

Regardless of whether Donald Trump directly enforced these incidents, his open unacceptance for minorities and his opposers give his loyal supporters the confidence and permission to carry them out. He’s a puppeteer that uses his minions in socially acceptable white hoods to carry out his dirty work using lies, scare tactics and manipulation for political and power gain – if that’s not a terrorist, then we’re all blind.