Just about every major American political figure has now weighed in on Trump’s incredibly racist comments yesterday that the United States should be accepting fewer immigrants from “shithole” regions like Haiti, El Salvador and Africa and court more immigrants from (predominantly white) countries like Norway.
The remarks were nothing less than an overt call for fewer people of color to enter the country and an invitation for more white people to immigrate. It’s a stunning view into the addled, bigoted mind of our president.
Not surprisingly, Republicans have either been slow to react to the indefensible comments or incredibly tepid in their condemnation. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan made the cowardly statement that Trump’s comments were simply “unfortunate” and “unhelpful.”
Now, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has finally broken his silence on the matter. McCain — who has been vocally critical of Trump but votes in line with him 83% of the time — said that the “essence of American patriotism” is a respect for the dignity of all people despite race or ethnicity.
“To believe otherwise is to oppose the very idea of America,” McCain added before tweeting again about how immigration makes this country great.
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McCain tweeted:
Respect for the God-given dignity of every human being, no matter their race, ethnicity or other circumstances of their birth, is the essence of American patriotism. To believe otherwise is to oppose the very idea of America.
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) January 12, 2018
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People have come to this country from everywhere, and people from everywhere have made America great. Our immigration policy should reflect that truth, and our elected officials, including our President, should respect it.
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) January 12, 2018
While the senator is, of course, correct in his sentiments, vile remarks like those made by Trump deserve and necessitate a much stronger response. Nothing less than an official presidential censure will do in this case.
Republicans continue to denounce him in words and support him in action. They allow him to remain in office so they can use him to sign their horrible legislation into law. He’s a mindless rubber stamp for their agenda, and they’ll tolerate even outright racism just because Trump has an (R) next to his name. It’s craven and an abject betrayal of everything this country stands for.
