In case you missed it, early today Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, was asked whether Donald Trump condemned the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who shot protesters.
Her reply (with crucifix dangling from her necklace): “The president is not going to weigh in on that.”
This should be a new low, but it’s not. Because there are so many new lows. Day after day after day of new lows. What it is, however, is a clear indicator of what Donald Trump knows to be true. Namely, he needs racists to be re-elected.
And he’s right.
There are tons of racists in this nation. Tons upon tons. They’re mostly white, the grew up with this weird notion that whites>blacks, and they somehow see themselves represented by a lifetime huckster millionaire who lived in a gold New York City skyscraper and never showed them (racist whites) a moment of interest until the 2016 election.
Now, he needs them.
That’s why we have the dog whistles. That’s why we have the scare-the-suburbanites soundbites. And that’s why, as we sit here, the White House press secretary refuses to utter a peep about a murderer.
She wants to keep her job.
And if that means supporting a shooter, so be it.
