Earlier this week, the United States’ new ambassador to the Netherlands, Pete Hoekstra, got pummeled by the Dutch press for trying to dodge questions about peddling conspiracy theories. A lot of people on this side of the Atlantic wondered–why doesn’t our press give this administration the same treatment?
Well, Donald Trump inadvertently gave them an opportunity on Thursday when he demanded to know why we take in so many people from “shitholes” like Haiti and Africa, rather than places like Norway. And The New York Times editorial board seized it. In a burning editorial that ran in Saturday’s paper, the Old Grey Lady offered a brutally frank assessment of the current occupant of the White House.
“Where to begin? How about with a simple observation: The president of the United States is a racist. And another: The United States has a long and ugly history of excluding immigrants based on race or national origin. Mr. Trump seems determined to undo efforts taken by presidents of both parties in recent decades to overcome that history.”
Now you’re probably thinking, “Well, duh!” After all, Trump’s entire political career has been built on dog whistling. But it’s not often that you see The Times editorial board use this kind of language to describe a president.
Trump, of course, tried to deny making such horribly racist comments.
The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said “take them out.” Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings – unfortunately, no trust!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
One big problem, Mr. Trump. Members of both parties heard you. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin was on hand for the discussion on an immigration deal that would protect immigrants from Haiti and Africa, and told reporters that he indeed heard Trump make those remarks. Watch here.
Durbin said that Trump interrupted Senator Lindsey Graham’s presentation on the deal a number of times–and in the process, made “hate-filled, vile, and racist” comments about Haitian and African immigrants. The Illinois Democrat was dumbfounded that a president could say such outrageous things.
According to three people who were on hand for the meeting, Graham laid into Trump, telling him that this country is “an idea, not a race.” That proves the lie to Trump’s claim that the Democrats made up the whole thing. If that wasn’t enough, Durbin was the only Democrat in the room when Trump spewed this. All of this led The Times editorial board to conclude that this is yet more evidence that we have a president who is “racist, ignorant, incompetent and undignified.”
It’s not the first time Trump himself has proven that the editorial board is on to something. After all, this is a man who was sued in the 1970s for turning away black tenants. This is a man who maintained five black and Latino teenagers accused of raping the Central Park jogger were guilty long after they were exonerated. This is a man who was one of the most shameless peddlers of the line that Barack Obama wasn’t born here. And this is a man who believed the neo-Nazi and white supremacist thugs who descended on Charlottesville were “very fine people.”
It’s very telling that one of the few outlets that is applauding Trump is The Daily Stormer, who gushed that Trump just proved that he is “more or less on the same page with us” on immigration matters. When one of the most noxiously racist sites on the Internet is applauding you and declaring that you’re one of them, it’s not a good sign.
But it’s equally telling that we haven’t seen any angry tweets from Trump about this, considering that he almost never misses an opportunity to attack “the failing @nytimes” whenever it dares to publish anything even mildly critical of him. After all, this editorial went live just before midnight on the East Coast on Friday night/Saturday morning. Perhaps Trump knows that this is one time The Times has him busted. Now perhaps he’ll have the guts to show some contrition for once and apologize.
(featured image: screenshot courtesy YouTube/The Washington Post)
