'Trumpism' takes an ugly un-American turn

Washington

AMERICANS who travel abroad are sometimes surprised when foreigners inquire about their nationality. If you are a citizen of the United States and carry a US passport, you assume that the answer is obvious. You are an American!

But then it doesn't seem so obvious to, say, citizens of India (Hindu or Sikh?) or Israel (Jew or Arab?) or Russia (Russian or Tatar?). Many Koreans have been living for several generations in Japan and are still not regarded as "Japanese" while Turks who had immigrated to Germany 50 years ago have yet to be identified as "Germans".

Let's face it. Your foreign friends are aware that you are an American citizen, but what some of them want to know is whether you are "Irish" or "Italian" or "Jewish" or "Mexican". They carry in …