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SWAN: Was birtherism racist?
KUSHNER: Um, look I wasn’t really involved in that.
SWAN: I know you weren’t. Was it racist?
KUSHNER: Like I said, I wasn’t involved in that.
SWAN: I know you weren’t. Was it racist?
KUSHNER: I know who the president is,
washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
KUSHNER: Um, look I wasn’t really involved in that.
SWAN: I know you weren’t. Was it racist?
KUSHNER: Like I said, I wasn’t involved in that.
SWAN: I know you weren’t. Was it racist?
KUSHNER: I know who the president is,
washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
& I have not seen anything in him that is racist. So, again, I was not involved in that.
SWAN: Did you wish he didn’t do that?
KUSHNER: Like I said, I was not involved in that. That was a long time ago.
“The whole [birther] thing was crazy & mean-spirited, of course,
SWAN: Did you wish he didn’t do that?
KUSHNER: Like I said, I was not involved in that. That was a long time ago.
“The whole [birther] thing was crazy & mean-spirited, of course,
its underlying bigotry & xenophobia hardly concealed,” she said. “But it was also dangerous, deliberately meant to stir up the wingnuts & kooks.”
That last part is key. Trump certainly relies upon support from the more extreme elements of the Republican Party base these days,
That last part is key. Trump certainly relies upon support from the more extreme elements of the Republican Party base these days,
but back when he was touting birtherism & launching his 2016 campaign, that was his launchpad. At the time, only around half of Republicans actually liked him, & most everybody else didn’t. He was a remarkably unpopular new entry into the presidential field, & those early
poll numbers gave people like yours truly license to immediately write him off. How could a guy whom everyone knows but only 49% of Republicans like even win the Republican primary?
By going hard for the base, that’s how. Trump’s presidency has been a series of transparent
By going hard for the base, that’s how. Trump’s presidency has been a series of transparent
base plays. He has gone further than most any other politician would dare in catering to that base, and it’s kept him relevant as an unpopular president. He has instilled the fear of God in fellow Republicans who would dare to cross him.
And in many ways, the birther campaign
And in many ways, the birther campaign
was the first real testing ground for that strategy. He showed the GOP base, much of which embraced the bogus theory, that he was willing to stick by a birther campaign that riled them up & drove the establishment crazy. It was the first big conspiracy theory of his
conspiracy theory-laden political career.
So for Kushner to dismiss it as trivial is to bury his own head in the sand. Kushner may not be a senior White House adviser without it.
But of course, he didn’t really dismiss it;
So for Kushner to dismiss it as trivial is to bury his own head in the sand. Kushner may not be a senior White House adviser without it.
But of course, he didn’t really dismiss it;
he actively sought to distance himself from it — which pretty much says it all.
