Trump is following in the footsteps of Ronald Reagan.

[guillaumeb]

in 1980, Reagan opened his campaign for President by appearing at a County Fair site in Philadelphia, Mississippi that was notorious for hosting KKK rallies. It was also the area where Civil Rights protesters Goodwin, Schwerner, and Chaney were killed. There was no good reason for Reagan to start his campaign in such a place, except to signal to the white racists who make up part of the GOP that he was one of them.

Reagan generally kept his racism low key, employing coded language, but he felt it was necessary to indirectly link his campaign with the KKK, and white supremacy, so he chose a KKK rallying site.

On the other hand, Trump has never concealed his racism. So his Juneteenth rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma is intended to juxtapose a rally of open and unapologetic white supremacists with the Juneteenth observance.

Are any of us surprised, except perhaps, for Susan Collins?

[Johnny2X2X]

1. Yup

Reagan was as racist as they come. The GOP cannot win without the White Supremacist vote, but it sure seems like they cater to them on every single issue.

[guillaumeb]

2. In my view, racism has been foundational to the post-1965 GOP.

Without the racist vote, the GOP would not be a national level Party.

[Johnny2X2X]

3. No doubt

At this point though, they've given White Supremacists everything they could possibly dream of, why keep obviously courting them? Couldn't they be more discreet now? Or is it they themselves that are White Supremacist and just want it to be known.

[guillaumeb]

4. The latter. eom

[Docreed2003]

5. He wasn't just sending a signal

Reagan was straight up preaching to the choir of folks who had murdered Chaney, Goodwin, and Schwerner just 16 years earlier.

[guillaumeb]

8. No doubt.

There was no other reason to open a Presidential campaign in that area.

[lpbk2713]

6. Going senile?

Is Trump's astrologer running the country?

[guillaumeb]

7. Both were racists when they were younger.

Young racists become old racists.

[lagomorph777]

10. Trump's Rasputin is Putin; his medium is Stephen Miller; his astrologer is...

...well, that's too many syllables for Trump.

[Gothmog]

9. trump does not hide his racism

[guillaumeb]

11. He never has.

He knows his base.

[lambchopp59]

12. Reagan was known for openly racist statements when the audience were RW hardliners

I could only see him and his actor's guild ilk as ignorant homophobes and greedy MF'ers for their own generation. LGBT folks of every color were still embroiled in the fight for liberation. All my now long dead "greatest generation" parents, aunts and uncles were all in for Reagan, 1980 was the first election I was old enough to vote and joined all my California cousins in votes to keep Carter.--- and part of that for us was because that generation's blatant racism and "we got ours git your own" attitudes were what we countered. "gay marriage" at that time was so openly dismissed with a scoff. My brothers and cousins thought it was totally cool I was dating a black guy at the time, Keith and I had a lot of fun in those days riding our motorcycles around southern california.
Personally, I thought it all seemed a conflict of interests using hollywood fame to influence government.

[guillaumeb]

13. And Trump is even more openly crude, and racist.

Both benefitted from their media images.

[lambchopp59]

14. Without a doubt about 10 times worse. Reagan would disown and distance himself that orange POS

And there's little else I can say good about the Ray Gun.
Come to think of it, I believe most of the earth departed RayGun republicans in my family would be sickened and disgusted by Trump, albeit for entirely different reasons than why I have to hold my airsick bag every time I hear that blowhard make a... *ahem*... speech.