Trump is racist, and he made that pretty clear with his post about the Obamas today. He posted a video depicting them as apes. Let that sync in, how can anyone think that is okay and not at all feel like its racist? The most disturbing part isn’t even what Trump posted — it’s that his supporters continue to support him anyway. Trump is what he is, and he’s very open about it. None of this should be surprising at this point. What is surprising is how many people still excuse it, defend it, or pretend it isn’t happening. You can’t support someone who is okay with racism and still believe you’re standing on some higher moral ground. At some point, the line between “I don’t agree with everything he says” and complete acceptance disappears. When you support someone, you are choosing what you’re willing to tolerate. And when you tolerate racism, even if you don’t personally think of yourself as racist, you are saying it isn’t important enough for you to stop supporting this person. The person you support reflects on you. Their beliefs reflect on you. Their words and actions don’t exist in a vacuum. You don’t get to separate yourself from it when it becomes uncomfortable. Political beliefs don’t get a free pass when they cross into moral territory. It’s terrible when you put your political beliefs above your moral beliefs, but that’s exactly what’s happening. I have made the mistake myself, saying someone is a good person despite the fact they support Trump. Those two things can't co-exist anymore. You even have a statement like this from Republican Senator Tim Scott, who is African American: “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House. The President should remove it.” Is that really all they have when the President does or says something racist — to pray and hope it isn’t real? That says a lot by itself. We know he is capable of saying or posting this but we just pray and hope he didn’t. I’ll admit, for a moment, I even thought it was fake, I shouldn’t have because nothing he says or does surprises me anymore. Then White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.” You can’t call something “fake outrage” unless you’re living in their experiences. You don’t get to dismiss someone’s reaction just because you don’t agree with their feelings. I’ve always said you can never tell another person how to feel — even if you’ve had a similar experience — because no two people feel the same experience the same way. Leavitt has no idea how another person might feel about something they believe is racist, and pretending otherwise is part of the problem. When racism is brushed off as “fake outrage,” it sends a very clear message about whose feelings matter and whose don’t.
