Yesterday, Republican Party standard bearer and likely nominee Donald Trump refused to denounce David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan. This is the same Trump that retweets white supremacists, calls Mexican immigrants rapists, and excuses the assault of a Black Lives Matter activist (the list goes on). Despite all of this, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently said he’ll “work with Donald Trump” and NRCC Chairman Greg Walden embarrassingly compared Trump to Ronald Reagan. Speaker Paul D. Ryan has also pledged to support Trump if he is the nominee. Last year, Congressman Blum appeared to compare himself to Trump and noted his ability to tap into a “pride in the country.”
Unfortunately, this embrace of Trump and his nativist, xenophobic, and racist campaign is not that surprising for a Republican party that proudly defended their Majority Whip despite his association with David Duke and his white supremacist group.
https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/703971464647741440
“Congressman Blum has made it clear that he thinks Trump is tapping into a ‘pride in the country’” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “But given that Trump has waffled on his support from the Ku Klux Klan, is Blum really comfortable with the type of ‘pride’ that Trump is tapping into?”
While we’re talking about Trump’s disturbing waffling on David Duke and the KKK, let’s not forget that Marco was introduced yesterday by former Senator George Allen. Allen infamously hurled a racial slur at a Democratic staffer during his failed reelection campaign, kept a noose in his office, and was exposed for praising the confederate flag.
https://twitter.com/jonathanhsinger/status/704011829572272129
All this is to say, the troubling association between racially charged behavior and leading Republicans is not isolated to Donald Trump. So what say Blum and House Republican leadership now?