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Donald Trump actually admitted to his own ignorance this evening in a tweet attacking Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-TX), the representative for a good portion of San Antonio.
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Congressman Castro, whose identical twin brother Julián is running to become the Democratic nominee for president, has been an enormous target for right-wing politicians and media after he posted a tweet listing all of the people in his district who have contributed the maximum amount to the Trump reelection campaign and lamenting their support for “a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’”
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Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump — the owner of @BillMillerBarBQ, owner of the @HistoricPearl, realtor Phyllis Browning, etc.
Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’ pic.twitter.com/YT85IBF19u
— Joaquin Castro (@Castro4Congress) August 6, 2019
Rep. Castro didn’t reveal anything that wasn’t already easily available public information that had been published by many news outlets, including The New York Times, but Republican politicians were apoplectic over his tweet, claiming that it invited the harassment of private citizens, something that they never seem to complain about when Donald Trump singles out individuals for criticism.
Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, tried to portray Rep. Castro’s tweet as a “target list,” an offensive accusation after this weekend’s spate of mass shootings, but the allegation was quickly rebutted by the congressman.
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2nd, what I said is true — your campaign has stoked fear of brown-skinned immigrants. Those contributions hv been used to pay for over 2K @Facebook ads declaring an invasion by Hispanics.
That is truly dangerous for millions.
Will you commit not to run another ad like that? 2/2— Joaquin Castro (@Castro4Congress) August 6, 2019
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Donald Trump himself weighed in this evening, presumably after watching a segment on Castro on one of the right-wing propaganda outlets he favors, but he claimed ignorance of anything to do about the congressman — who is Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the Intelligence Committee — displaying a frightening lack of knowledge about a key member of Congress.
I don’t know who Joaquin Castro is other than the lesser brother of a failed presidential candidate (1%) who makes a fool of himself every time he opens his mouth. Joaquin is not the man that his brother is, but his brother, according to most, is not much. Keep fighting Joaquin!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2019
Given Trump’s general lack of awareness and mental acuity, it’s surprising that he didn’t confuse the congressman with the late Fidel Castro since they both have sported beards.
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Trump took the opportunity to insult not just Representative Castro but also his twin brother (and potential Trump opponent in next year’s election), Julián Castro.
So much for attempting to unite the political divide in the wake of a tragedy that the president himself inspired with his racist anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Rather than paying any attention to Trump’s exhortation to his followers to “Keep fighting Joaquin!”, we should all urge the Texas congressman to “Keep fighting, Joaquin!”
A simple comma can make all the difference.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
