From telling four Democratic congresswomen of color to "go back" to their countries to using rhetoric that inspires white supremacist mass shooters, President Donald Trump's racism is growing even more blatant as the 2020 presidential election creeps closer.
South Bend, Indiana mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg spoke with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday. Tapper asked Mayor Pete if he considered it a "racist act" to vote for Donald Trump in 2020.
Watch his answer below:
"At best, it's looking the other way on racism," Buttigieg told Tapper. He continued:
“But I think a lot of people are wondering what kind of deal even that is supposed to be. You know you look at what he said in that rally: ‘You’ve got no choice but to vote for me.’ And if you look at the numbers, basically what he’s saying is, ‘Alright, I want you to look the other way on the racism, tolerate the negativity, accept the instability of my administration because I am going to deliver for you job growth almost as good as the Obama years.’ That’s what his argument amounts to now and that’s part of the reason why he’s unpopular.”
Buttigieg was referring to the president's rally in New Hampshire this past Thursday, where he told supporters they had "no choice" but to vote for him, or "everything" would be "down the tubes."
Many agreed with Mayor Pete's assessment.
Buttigieg is far from the only candidate calling out Trump's racism.
A recent article from the Washington Post reported that the president, who has been accused of racism since the 1970s, hates being called racist:
Throughout his career as a real estate magnate, a celebrity provocateur and a politician, Trump has recoiled from being called the r-word, even though some of his actions and words have been plainly racist."
The president is doing everything he can to avoid being called a racist, just short of actually examining his character, reconsidering his rhetoric, or abandoning clearly racist policies.
