Letter to the editor: The "most rascist thing" Trump has done?

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 02.19.26

On Feb. 5, Trump posted a 62-second video to his Truth Social account. It promoted debunked 2020 election conspiracy theories and depicted former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys. Condemnation was swift — and bipartisan.

Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) called it “blatantly racist and inexcusable.” Rep. French Hill (R-AR) said, “Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric have no place in our country.” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said, “The President’s post is wrong and incredibly offensive — whether intentional or a mistake — and should be deleted immediately with an apology.”

Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, 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.’” Leavitt dismissed the bipartisan backlash as “fake outrage.”

The post remained online for nearly 12 hours. Curtis said, “It should never have been posted or remained public for so long.”

Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said, “The release of racist images of former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama is offensive, heartbreaking and unacceptable. President Trump should apologize.”

Trump refused. “I looked at the beginning of it. It was fine,” he said and blamed staffers. Asked if he would apologize, Trump said, “No. I didn’t make a mistake.” No one forced Trump to hire racists, and no one could stop him from telling them, “You’re fired!”

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the GOP’s only Black senator, said, “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Which begs the question, “What came in second?”

Was it Trump calling Somali-Americans “garbage?” His baseless claim that Obama was born in Kenya? Or his A.I.-generated video of Obama being arrested in the Oval Office and imprisoned?

The only question that really matters is this: “Is Trump a racist?” Because we have to rank all the racist things Trump has done, the answer is obvious.

Larry Widman

Leland