On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “MTP Daily,” DNC Chair Tom Perez said President Trump’s reported “shithole” comment is “by definition a racist statement” and “you can’t help but wonder that he has malice in his heart.”
Perez said, “Well, you know, when you say that someone from Haiti and African nations are what he said, and then you contrast it with Norway, I think that’s by definition a racist statement. And it’s not just what he said now, it’s what he has said about Mexicans.”
He added, “I think John Lewis is on to something. I mean, there’s just such a pattern of insensitive, racist comments that you can’t help but wonder that he has malice in his heart. But I think — you — and you touched on it in an earlier interview, I think what’s more noteworthy, the notion that Donald Trump made a racist remark again is a dog bites man story, unfortunately. It’s conduct unbecoming a president. It’s reckless. But to me, what’s really remarkable is the appalling silence of Republican leaders. … [T]he party of Lincoln is dead. The silence of Republicans in the Senate and the House is because they understand that Donald Trump is enabling them to do this.”
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