As Charlie Sykes has noted, trom birtherism to Mexican rapists to mistreating migrants at the border to the “fine people” in Charlottesville, it’s worked for him.
That’s why Trump allies expect this ugliness to get worse as the presidential campaign heats up, not better.
In this case, Trump is exploiting recent divisions with the Democratic party, mainly between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the four progressive House Democratic women who refer to themselves as “the Squad.”
Trump has seen the polling that the most visible one of these liberal Democrats — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — is becoming the face for the party with a crucial group of swing voters. And he’s baiting Democrats into rallying around her and her allies.
Trump knows exactly how Democrats will react: with justified outrage. But it also helps him tie all Democrats — especially those running for president — to the most liberal side of their party. At the same time it also allows him to speak to his racist base in a way no president has dared to do in modern times.
Meanwhile, the news media plays a familiar game of refusing to call out Trump’s racismand instead relying on “critics” of the president. The effect is to not frame Trump’s racist rhetoric as wrong; it’s simply portrayed as more partisanship.
Of course, none of this works if Republicans had joined Democrats in denouncing Trump’s racist rant. Their complete silence proves that Trump is in total control of the Republican party. There was no dissent at all — even for language that would have been considered unacceptable and even un-American just a few years ago.
As we look at the campaign ahead, it’s obvious that Trump no longer needs to rely on dog whistles. He can use a bullhorn.
Comment