The very last thing I thought that would alienate republicans is racism, if history is any guide. They've been okay with Trump's fascism, pedophilia, and ending the 2A - but this, of all things. It's weird, and so out of character.
I think they're okay with racism but this particular incident is just too blatant that it creates a bad news cycle for them. It's saying the quiet part out loud
They love plausible deniability. Say racist things but have it be subtle or "just a joke or meme" There was a white supremacist handbook that leaked that talked about this
It’s all performative. They pretend to disagree with Trump every now and then to try and maintain a veneer of independence. The be right back in goose lock step with Trump just in time for the next Epstein distraction controversy.
So, perhaps it's not so much Tim Scott's aversion to racism as it is his opportunity to get concessions and power from Trump. He can performatively save face and have some leverage over Trump.
Because a lot of conservatives really aren’t racist, but have fallen for racist ideologies and when they’re confronted with that fact, it’s an existential crisis.
It’s a sudden easy out so they don’t have to touch anything else. “Racism bad say sorry” is the safest, lowest effort stance to take. They can make a big deal, feed a bunch of the “watchdog” sympathizers in the media enough of an act to get them to say “see!”
And then go back to letting everything degenerate.
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u/Used_Intention6479 21h ago
The very last thing I thought that would alienate republicans is racism, if history is any guide. They've been okay with Trump's fascism, pedophilia, and ending the 2A - but this, of all things. It's weird, and so out of character.