Divisive

That's what Donald Trump is.  I'm not going to beat around the bush about it.

For the past week Trump has lobbied some rather hateful comments about four freshman minority congresswomen - Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, collectively known as the Squad - calling them un-American for their sharp criticism of U.S. foreign and domestic policy, and he's been telling them to leave America if they don't like it here.  Although many people have rallied to stand with the four U.S. Representatives in solidarity, Trump has still juiced up his base, the Squad having given that base plenty to hate about them.  After all, they're women, they're of non-European origin, they're young, they're ultra-liberal enough to make Elizabeth Warren look like a moderate, and they call themselves a name commonly associated with hip-hop culture.  All very threatening for a political base that wants to see old conservative white men remain in power because they are mostly old conservative white men - and they prefer country and western.

Trump is trying to make them the de facto running mates of whoever gets the Democratic presidential nomination in an effort to paint the Democrats as far to the left, and he may yet do that.  The Squad haven't done themselves any favors by soaking up the media attention they've been given while moderate female Democratic House freshmen, including my own congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, get to work and learn the ropes of the job.  But Trump's attacks on the Squad go far beyond the pale, and it just might be that there are enough voters who disagree with the Squad's agenda but can't tolerate Trump's demonization of them just because the views they hold are more in common with those of Norman Thomas than with those of Clarence Thomas.  After all, they were duly elected, and they represent the views of most of their constituents.

If anything, Trump has helped Nancy Pelosi by trying to exploit the disagreements she has with the Squad.  Now she stands by them and she has for now put aside her own issues with them, at least in public.  It would be better, though, if she and the Squad hash things out in private from now on, but they probably won't, and that's what Trump is counting on. :-O