Trump: Love it or leave it?
“Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!”
The President of the United States of America’s tweet, July 16h, 2019
He claims he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body.
Then he must be boneless.
That includes a missing backbone.
President Donald “Filet” Trump, the playground bullying, man child is thumbing his nose at decency again.
Last Sunday, he decided to instruct four U.S. Congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from because (among other things) he simply doesn’t like the fact they don’t like him.
Those congresswomen have a few things in common.
They’re all women; they’re all Democrats; they’re all women of color.
Three of them were born in this country, so they’ve already complied with his stupid request.
The fourth, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, is a naturalized American citizen who came to the United States from Somalia when she was in her pre-teen years.
Even if you don’t agree with her politics, she’s the living example of what this country professes to be.
But President Petty wants to ignite a little political brushfire to scare up a few votes by seeking to otherize Omar and her three freshmen congressional cohorts.
To imply that people should “go back to where they came from” is the essence of bigotry.
Until you’ve heard that phrase hurled your way – as I have on many occasions – you’ll never understand how cruel it is.
Trump knows what he’s doing.
But worse, we all know what he’s doing.
Republicans in Congress were immediately pressed to respond to Trump’s racist nonsense.
They didn’t disappoint (Trump).
Some Republicans claimed they didn’t know about his statements.
Others engaged in the Republican standby, we’ll call, “both-sides-isms.”
That’s the cowardly way of claiming there is blame for something to go around on “both sides.”
They’ve learned that from Trump, who gave a wink and a nod to white supremacists on the bloody streets of Charlottesville, Virginia in August of 2017.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, who’s become Trump’s golfing partner, since the death of his close friend John McCain, has also become Trump’s personal Sycophant-in-Chief.
He appeared on Fox News, where he sheepishly tried to appear to be even-handed.
He failed. Miserably.
He admonished the president to “aim higher.”
(For the record, Trump is incapable of aiming above the belt)
Then Graham abandoned any semblance of objectivity.
“We all know that AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) and this crowd are a bunch of communists. They hate Israel. They hate our own country,” he spit out, as if any of it could be taken as gospel.
With the knowledge that there were eager Republicans standing by ready to take up his crusade, Trump doubled, tripled and quadrupled down on his vile attacks on the four congresswomen.
Soon, there was a parade of Republicans rushing to cameras and microphones, blathering on-and-on about the need to call out those women for their supposed un-American inclinations.
Democrats responded with understandable fury.
After all, 29 members of the U.S. House and Senate were born outside of the United States.
And, according to the New York Times, there are 14 members of Congress – all Democrats – who’ve become citizens after immigrating to the country.
Democrats immediately sought to defend the four women against the careless vitriol of a president who repeatedly flirts with racism.
A resolution that condemned Trump’s attacks on the four women went before members of the U.S. House. And of course, every Democrat voted for it.
All but four Republicans (and one Independent who recently left the Republican Party), though, voted against it.
Those five people had the guts to stand up to Trump and his despicable language, and in support of an America that doesn’t seek to make political hay by “otherizing” people for political sport.
Yes. Trump does have racist bones in his body.
Many of his supporters are enlivened by that.
We can be assured that he’ll pull this kind of nonsense as the 2020 election draws closer.
He can’t help himself.
He simply has no shame.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight and 20-year TV-news veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.