Instant Opinion: ‘Trump’s racism is crude, but may be dangerously effective’

The Week’s daily round-up highlights the five best opinion pieces from across the British and international media, with excerpts from each.

1. Afua Hirsch in The Guardian

on the method behind Donald Trump’s madness

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Trump’s ‘go back’ racism is crude, but may be dangerously effective

“Trump is turning on these congresswomen quite deliberately, having calculated that, regardless of their policies – which are centred substantially on addressing class inequality – US voters aren’t ready for a Democratic party which looks like them. Yet it would be wrong to be dismissive of rhetoric as racist as this. Its intended purpose is certainly to play on the fears our racialised pasts have deposited in the present. But that can be a very reliable political strategy.”

2. Josh Campbell for CNN

on WikiLeaks

Julian Assange falsely billed himself as a truth defender

“For his part, Assange has continued to deny any connection to the Kremlin. But with so many now obvious connections uncovered between WikiLeaks and Russia, coupled with Assange's own documented desire to hurt Hillary Clinton, how can anyone continue to take him seriously as a righteous pursuer of transparency operating in the public interest? Undeniably, an American candidate for the highest office in the land -- in this case, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- was the victim of a sophisticated influence operation launched by a hostile foreign government. That government appears to have been secretly aided by a group that has billed itself as a defender of the truth.”

3. Daniel Finkelstein in The Times

on the real legacy of the moon landings

Moon mission put a rocket under the West

“Alongside the magic of the moon landing, when we celebrate the 50th anniversary we are celebrating the achievements of a generation who took seriously their duty to protect the liberal democratic capitalist system and to make it a beacon of the world. We are celebrating their belief in science and progress in a free society and their confidence that, with enough will, there is nothing possible that we can give up as impossible. The cliché is right. If we can send a man to the moon, we can do anything. Defeat poverty, conquer disease, find a technological solution to climate change. And, with confidence, liberal democracy need not retreat.”

4. Con Coughlin in The Daily Telegraph

on Turkey’s ever-closer ties with Russia

Erdogan’s gone too far. It's time to throw Turkey out of Nato

“The days when Turkey had a genuine interest in cementing its ties with the West by joining the European Union are long gone. Instead, we have a country that openly associates with those who wish to do us harm. Consequently, now that Mr Erdogan has demonstrated that he feels more at home in Moscow than he does in Brussels, we should acknowledge where Turkey’s true interests lie, and terminate its Nato membership.”

5. Gabrielle Noel in The Independent

on the fallacy of virginity

Miley Cyrus is right – there is no such thing as virginity

“We should reject any system that nullifies someone’s right to body autonomy the way virginity does. All women deserve to be respected and protected, not just the ones having sex the way everyone has decided they should.”