You had one job, Donald: Denounce Nazis and racists.
And you blew it. Whenever our country has looked to Donald Trump to give voice to our values, unite us as people or, well, lead, he’s failed, but never quite as spectacularly as he did over the weekend.
After a Nazi sympathizer rammed his car through a group of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and seriously injuring dozens more, Trump, speaking at his New Jersey golf club, did what we have come to expect.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides,” he said. “On many sides.”
There were not “many sides” on Saturday.
Heyer was in Charlottesville, Va., with hundreds of others to confront hate and support unity. There were two sides — right and wrong — and again Trump couldn’t distinguish between them.
The president tried to undo the damage Monday, finally denouncing the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacists. The follow-up comments were appropriate, but days too late.
By contrast, it took Trump less than an hour to fire an angry, petulant tweet at Merck & Co. CEO Kenneth Frazier, who is black and who resigned from a presidential advisory board in protest of Trump’s “many sides” comment.
Trump’s failure to distance himself from racists and bigots should come as no surprise. These are, after all, a key part of his constituency, the people who helped get him elected.
They are following so-called leaders of the “Alt-Right” movement, like Richard Spencer who is the direct progeny of one of Trump’s closest advisors, Steve Bannon, who used Breitbart News to inflame racial resentment.
It’s David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader who endorsed Trump during the campaign and praised him during the weekend chaos. “This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump.”
And of course there’s Trump himself who was the leading proponent of the scurrilous “Birther” lie and rose to power blowing the racist dog whistle.
The white supremacists noticed Trump’s refusal to distance himself from their cause and a neo-Nazi publication touted it as a tacit endorsement.
“He said he loves us all,” was the reaction. “No condemnation at all. When asked to condemn, he just walked out of the room. Really, really good. God bless him.”
With our president unable to grasp moral clarity, others attempted to fill the void.
Former President Barack Obama quoted Nelson Mandela, who said, “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
Closer to home, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement quoting Gordon B. Hinckley, who said, “No man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ.”
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, offered a strong, personal condemnation of the demonstrations: “We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home.”
That’s what leadership looks like.
For the nearly half of Utahns who in a recent poll said they approve of the job Trump is doing, it’s time for you to take a long look at the man you support.
For the rest of us, it’s time to add our voices to those who united in rallies Monday evening to clearly and unequivocally denounce racism and embrace our brothers and sisters. It’s time to renew the hard discussions about tearing down the barriers that keep our communities from being inclusive and tearing down the symbols of antiquated prejudice.
It’s time for us to speak loudly and clearly for the side of justice, because our president is incapable.
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