Aziz Ansari Tells Donald Trump “To Go Fuck Himself” in New York Times Op-Ed

Aziz Ansari has written an op-ed for The New York Times called “Why Trump Makes Me Scared for My Family.” In the essay, Ansari writes about his experience growing up as the son of Muslim immigrants, and why Donald J. Trump (the presumptive Republican candidate for president) is a threat to his and millions of Americans’ everyday lives. Here is how he introduced the op-ed to his Twitter followers:

Trump wants to ban Muslim immigrants like my parents. I wrote a piece for @NYTimes telling him to go fuck himself: https://t.co/MCDsQyz2jy

— Aziz Ansari (@azizansari) June 24, 2016

Throughout the piece, Ansari contrasts his personal experiences with Trump’s hate speech. He quotes Trump, who said Muslim Americans “know who the bad ones are,” which Ansari clarifies is “implying that millions of innocent people are somehow complicit in awful attacks,” like the recent mass murder at an Orlando nightclub. He says, “By Mr. Trump’s logic, after the huge financial crisis of 2007-08, the best way to protect the American economy would have been to ban white males.”

He also cites Trump’s assertion that Muslims in New Jersey were cheering in the streets during the 9/11 attacks, which “has been continually disproved.” Ansari writes of his own experience from that day, as a student at New York University. He remembers fearing for his life, and speaking on the phone with his family, who were “terrified about [his] safety as they watched the towers collapse.”

Ansari quotes a friend who told him, “I’m really sick of having to explain that I’m not a terrorist every time the shooter is brown.” He continues, “after these attacks, anyone that even looks like they might be Muslim understands the feelings my friend described. There is a strange feeling that you must almost prove yourself worthy of feeling sad and scared like everyone else.”

Read the full op-ed here.

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