What's going on here will be familiar to anyone who watched former UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn evade questions about anti-Semitism. 1/x
When asked about anti-Semitism - which was rife among his supporters and lifelong associates - Corbyn would retreat to some broad formula about "all forms of racism."
2/x
Corbyn understood that many important members of his coalition were doing things that *Jews* thought of as anti-Semitic - but that he thought perfectly fine. To condemn anti-Semitism as such would open the door to allowing Jews to define what was anti-Jewish and what was not. 3/x
Since Corbyn and many of those around him regarded Jews as (at best) absurdly over-sensitive - and (at worst) fully deserving of whatever happened to them - Corbyn refused to open that door.
*He* would decide what was bigoted, not a lot of touchy, noisy Jews. 4/x
Trump is the same. Something like 9 in 10 black Americans regard him as racist. That might be a clue that something is amiss.
But in Trump's mind, they are all wrong. He says he is the greatest president for black Americans since (maybe) Lincoln. That settles it. 5/x
Like Corbyn, Trump and his spokespeople don't quite dare say what their most ardent supporters want to hear them say.
But they can at least refuse to say what their supporters DON'T want to hear them say.
Hence, the evasions then and now.
END
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