The Republican Party received multiple warnings Thursday that their 2024 presidential candidate appeared to have gone rogue with his racial attacks.
Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his much-criticized decision to question Vice President Kamala Harris' race in a Truth Social post about her "Indian heritage" — then faced immediate backlash.
"Trump is making Harris’s race a central part of his political strategy," Associate Professor in Global Politics Brian Klaas wrote on X. "It is no accident that Trump’s first mention in the New York Times, in October 1973, was for an article titled 'Major Landlord Accused of Antiblack Bias in City.' He’s a racist, through and through."
The Times reported Trump Management Corporation stood accused of setting rental terms and conditions based on race and of falsely telling Black would-be tenants apartments were not available.
ALSO READ: Mike Johnson's now-deleted Trump social media post sparks controversy
"To my former GOP pals: If you’re still on board, you own this Nuremberg bloodlines s---," replied former Republican strategist Jeff Timmer. "You might tell yourself you don’t, that you’re not racist even if Trump is. But you’re wrong. There are no ‘both sides.’ You’ve made your choice. You used to be better. Now, you’re not."
Never Trump conservative group the Lincoln Project called Trump's attack "remarkable."
"Don't expect him to ever change course, he's incapable of changing," the group wrote. "He's the same racist, insecure megalomaniac he's always been."
Congressional reporter Jamie Dupree joked that the Republican party was unable to reign in the candidate they repeatedly urged to tone down the rhetoric.
"GOP leaders: Go after Harris on her record and issues," he wrote. "Donald Trump today: Is Harris Indian or Black?"
Former FBI special agent and ABC legal contributor Asha Rangappa questioned Trump's logic.
"Can someone please explain the strategy here?" Rangappa wrote. "Is the idea that if Blacks see Kamala embracing the Indian side of her family, they will abandon her?? I’m just confused."
