Jessica Valenti
The GOP’s Dangerous Cowardice
Americans will remember what Republicans did and didn’t do when faced with a bigot
Everyone knows Donald Trump is a racist.
From calling African nations “shithole countries” and labeling Mexicans as rapists to his birtherism and saying there were “good people on both sides” of the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, the president’s racism is clear and unabashed.
To argue otherwise is to ignore reality. Yet Republicans continue to do just that, claiming Trump’s words have been taken out of context or that they can’t know what’s “in his heart.”
That’s why the president’s most recent attack, telling four American congresswomen of color to “go back” to their countries, has taken such a hold of the national conversation: Now more than ever, it’s impossible to credibly claim Trump is just stumbling into oratorical snafus rather than peddling in active hatred.
That hasn’t stopped Republicans from trying, though, with many criticizing his tweet without using the word “racist.” New York Rep. Elise Stefanik called it “inappropriate,” for example, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said it was “destructive,” and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski tweeted that his words were “spiteful.” But when the…
