The president\u2019s racism is making his party antsy.<\/b>
\nWelcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump\u2019s racism is making his party antsy.
What happened? Overnight, Trump posted a racist, 62-second video to his personal Truth Social feed depicting Barack and Michelle Obama\u2019s faces superimposed on apes.
The post has since been deleted \u2014 and attributed, unconvincingly, to an errant staffer \u2014 after a quick bipartisan backlash, but only after the White House initially brushed it off as \u201can internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.\u201d (There are, as some observers have noted, no apes in the beloved children\u2019s movie The Lion King.)
How have Republicans responded? Much more vocally than usual. Among others: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is Black, wrote that he was \u201cPraying [the video] was fake because it\u2019s the most racist thing I\u2019ve seen out of this White House.\u201d Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) described the video as \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d and said Trump should apologize. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) also called for an apology and said the post was \u201cwrong and incredibly offensive.\u201d
What\u2019s the context? Trump has a long history of racism, dating back well before his 2016 presidential campaign, which he began by declaring Mexican immigrants to the US \u201crapists\u201d who were bringing crime and drugs into the country.
Since returning to office last year, Trump\u2019s rhetoric has grown even uglier: He has referred to Somali immigrants as \u201cgarbage\u201d and \u201clow-IQ,\u201d and his administration has embraced white supremacist imagery and slogans in many public posts.
What\u2019s the big picture? Trump\u2019s post, while brazenly racist, doesn\u2019t really tell us anything new about him. The GOP response, however, is more interesting. There\u2019s no reason to suspect their pushback represents any kind of durable break with the leader of their party. Republicans\u2019 willingness to criticize Trump, however, can be a useful barometer for how they\u2019re feeling about his \u2014 and by extension, their \u2014 standing with voters. Right now, it\u2019s not looking good.
The Seattle Seahawks are playing for a second Super Bowl title on Sunday, and my hopes and dreams rest on this wise-looking creature from the Nashville Zoo \u2014 Wilbur the binturong, who picked Seattle to win \u2014 being right. Go Hawks, have a great weekend, and we\u2019ll see you back here on Monday!<\/p>\n