Trump’s racist post, briefly explained

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.

Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump’s racism is making his party antsy.

What happened? Overnight, Trump posted a racist, 62-second video to his personal Truth Social feed depicting Barack and Michelle Obama’s faces superimposed on apes.

The post has since been deleted — and attributed, unconvincingly, to an errant staffer — after a quick bipartisan backlash, but only after the White House initially brushed it off as “an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King.” (There are, as some observers have noted, no apes in the beloved children’s movie The Lion King.)

How have Republicans responded? Much more vocally than usual. Among others: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is Black, wrote that he was “Praying [the video] was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) described the video as “totally unacceptable” and said Trump should apologize. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) also called for an apology and said the post was “wrong and incredibly offensive.”

What’s the context? Trump has a long history of racism, dating back well before his 2016 presidential campaign, which he began by declaring Mexican immigrants to the US “rapists” who were bringing crime and drugs into the country.

Since returning to office last year, Trump’s rhetoric has grown even uglier: He has referred to Somali immigrants as “garbage” and “low-IQ,” and his administration has embraced white supremacist imagery and slogans in many public posts.

What’s the big picture? Trump’s post, while brazenly racist, doesn’t really tell us anything new about him. The GOP response, however, is more interesting. There’s no reason to suspect their pushback represents any kind of durable break with the leader of their party. Republicans’ willingness to criticize Trump, however, can be a useful barometer for how they’re feeling about his — and by extension, their — standing with voters. Right now, it’s not looking good.

The Seattle Seahawks are playing for a second Super Bowl title on Sunday, and my hopes and dreams rest on this wise-looking creature from the Nashville Zoo — Wilbur the binturong, who picked Seattle to win — being right. Go Hawks, have a great weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Monday!