On Wednesday, Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib rightfully called out Republican Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Mark Meadows for using a black Trump Organization employee as a “prop” to prove that the President of the United States isn’t racist (he definitely is).
“As a person of color in this committee, that’s how I felt at that moment, and I wanted to express that. But I am not calling that gentleman, Mr. Meadows, a racist for doing so. I am saying that in itself, it is a racist act,” Tlaib explained, as Meadows vociferously scrambled to deny that his stunt was in any way motivated by racial animus. Hell, Meadows, claimed, he couldn’t possibly be racist, since “my nieces and nephews are people of color.”
Only... what’s this? It turns out this isn’t the first time Meadows—despite his protestations—has used race as a political wedge issue. In fact, there’s not one but two videos of him being super-duper racist toward none other than former President Barack Obama.
Just a friendly joke about sending a black man born in Hawaii “home to Kenya, or wherever it is.” And wouldn’t you know it, here’s Meadows using the exact same line at a different event:
Weird...Meadows indulging in the same racist birther nonsense that President Trump—the very same person the congressman tried to deny was racist on Wednesday—helped popularize?
Perhaps Meadows’ defense of Trump’s racism isn’t so much standard-issue Republican bootlicking as it is an attempt—consciously or not—to justify his own bigotry. Or maybe he’s just full of shit.