Donald Trump Isn’t Racist Because Elaine Chao is in Cabinet, Says Pence’s Chief of Staff
By Ryan General
Despite the controversial content of his series of tweets from this past weekend, President Donald Trump apparently cannot be deemed racist simply due to the fact that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is part of the Trump Cabinet.
This ridiculous yet unsurprising spin comes from Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short, who in an interview with Fox News on Monday, defended Trump’s demand that four members of Congress “go back” to where they came from.
“So, when people write that the president has racist motives here, it’s just, look at the reality at who’s actually serving in Donald Trump’s Cabinet,” Short said.
Short pointed out that Elaine Chao, who was born in Taiwan, didn’t speak English when she came to the US as a child. Chao is now married to Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Elsewhere, Trump drew criticism for his slew of racist tweets apparently targeting four high-profile lawmakers of color – Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
In the tweets, the POTUS referred to the Democratic congresswomen as foreign-born, telling them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came from.”
It is worth noting that all four lawmakers are citizens, three of them were born in the US.
Among those who voiced their objections against Trump’s racist rant, were members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), chair of the caucus, released a statement to Huffington Post, calling Trump’s comments “racist and utterly beneath the office of the president.”
“As chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I unequivocally condemn the president’s message of intolerance and hate,” she was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, California Rep. Ted Lieu (D), a vocal critic of Trump, took to Twitter to call the POTUS a “racist ass” for his “bigoted and un-American” message.
“What makes America exceptional is we are a nation of immigrants. As an immigrant who served on active duty, I am appalled you are telling us to ‘go back,'” he wrote, tagging Trump’s Twitter handle. “I’m not going back. America is our home. And I will still be in Congress after your racist ass leaves.”
Trump would later double down on his tirade on Sunday evening with some follow-up tweets:
In response to Trump’s latest tweets, Chu has called upon her Republican colleagues in Congress to denounce the “dangerous racism espoused by this president” but her message has so far been met with silence.
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