For Myanmar’s military generals, who for decades have denied the Rohingya citizenship and rights, Trump’s language is validation. Successive governments have labeled them “Bengali” interlopers from Bangladesh, despite the group’s presence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state for centuries. For persecuted minorities like the Rohingya, the implications of Trump’s speech are chilling if not fatal. The broader danger is that Trump’s speech contributes to a global climate where scapegoating the vulnerable becomes politically defensible. By Phar Kim Beng (PhD) is professor of ASEAN studies, International Islamic University of Malaysia, and director, Institute of International and ASEAN Studies (IINTAS).