Animals

There is a vociferous argument on Twitter and other social media about whether Trump was refering to all immigrants or just MS-13 as "animals."

Who cares?

I mean, we should care that our president is a racist, but do we really need to parse his latest brain fart for intent?  Is there really any debate left as to where Trump's heart lies (in darkness) when it comes to immigrants?  Or black people?

From Aaron Schlossberg yelling that he will call ICE to the batshit insane Georgia GOP primary, we are confronted daily with the evidence that any African American could've told you (and likely did) for the entirety of the Obama Administration: Racism is very much still woven into the fabric of this country.  Now it includes immigrants (the "wrong kind") and could even be said to include those who oppose racism.  It's always been there.

As an historical optimist, I'd like to think that ten years from now, we can look back on the Trump years as the moment the ethnonationalist, racist wing of  the Republican Party took off its mask and showed the country what it really was.  Trump has tossed aside the dog whistle for bullhorn, and in doing so, he has shown just how many people want to hear what the bullhorn is spewing.

UPDATE: Hate to admit it, but Michael Gerson covers this topic better.