Finally, GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump has cleared the air on one important matter: He is an unrepentant racist.
That much pretty much everyone but Trump and fellow racists or struggling deniers agree upon. The cementing comments this week were about a federal judge with Latino heritage being unable to be unbiased in the fraud case of his own Trump University.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel is “a Mexican,” Trump said, and because Trump wants to build a wall along the Mexican border, he can’t get a fair trial from a judge born in Indiana with immigrant parents. Trump said. Curiel, he charged, has an “inherent conflict of interest.”
Even after spewing months of blatant and thinly veiled racist, xenophobic and frightening ultra-nationalistic rants, Trump was still able to shock his own political party and the world.
That’s a good sign. What’s a bad sign is that numerous Republicans, even those right here in Colorado, have not yet abandoned Trump, even as they call out his repulsive racist banter. America and Republicans have been down this road before, notably with the infamous Sen. Joe McCarthy and Sen. Barry Goldwater, and history has repeatedly shown, it does not end well for anyone.
Just as shocking as Trump’s onerous, racist declarations are statements from elected officials defending Trump or trying to sound convincing that this isn’t that big of a deal.
Racism is a vulgar and abhorrent trait that Americans have spent centuries trying to eradicate. Hundreds of millions of people have been murdered here, and across the globe, because of racism and racists in power. Hundreds of millions of non-white people are cheated out of the same things white people are entitled to in this country because of subtle and overt racism.
Racism is a big deal in Aurora, in Colorado, in America and all over the world. And anyone who even flirts with racist banter and behavior should immediately be called out and discouraged from seeking public office. And someone like Trump who not only repeatedly blurts out such heartfelt racist bombs, but then defends them and tries to explain them away as logical and “misconstrued” rationalizations? He should be shunned by his political compatriots, not protected.
Republicans must quit kidding themselves. Trump is a bigoted racist, and it’s wrong. He appeals to other bigoted racists. And those who can stomach his foul bigotry and overlook it because, hey, he’s the Republican Party presidential nominee? Or those who dismiss his behavior because Trump may have other qualities they find attractive? They are complicit in sanctioning a candidate for U.S. president who is a foul and repulsive racist.
What part of this could not be more clear and indefensible to every voter and every elected official in Colorado? When Colorado GOP congressmen Mike Coffman Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn, Scott Tipton, Sen. Cory Gardner and all five GOP U.S. Senate hopefuls — Ryan Frazier, Jack Graham, Jon Keyser and Darryl Glenn — say that they will directly or tacitly support Trump — or outright fight for him, like Senate hopeful Robert Blaha has vowed — they sully their own candidacies and seriously call into question their judgment and temerity. Standing silent or looking the other way while a racist runs for president isn’t an out for these or other Colorado politicians. If these politicians don’t have the courage and mettle to stand up against Trump as a candidate, what horrendous things might they go along with should he become president?
Trump’s candidacy is a watershed moment for all Americans, but this will be the defining moment for the Republican Party and for Colorado Republican officials. It’s not enough to simply call out but set aside Trump’s vacuous and vile racism. This is not a partisan issue, it’s a humanitarian and American quagmire.
Every Coloradan should publicly shun Trump’s candidacy, but especially Colorado Republicans, who now must prove to state residents they are not what Trump clearly is.