Something sort of extraordinary happened over the last couple days. First, Donald Trump apparently described Haiti and other African nations as”sh!tholes.” Josh Marshall’s article, Thoughts on Sh[!]thole and Racist Xenophobia At the Heart of Trumpism, does a good job of working through some of the thoughts I had on the subject:
...there’s nothing inherently wrong with the word – nothing more than any other not for polite conversation swear word. And even this ugly usage doesn’t capture the essence of Trump’s meaning. The context and import of President Trump’s remarks are not simply that the countries are “sh[!]tholes.” It’s much more than that. It’s that we don’t want people from those countries because the awfulness of the countries attaches to the people themselves.
It’s not about Trump having a potty mouth. It’ not even about describing some other country in such language. Its about the racist nature of the comments. Today, Senator Dick Durbin confirmed the disgusting language by our President. Other politicians, both Democratic and even a few Republicans called the President out.
Republican Lindsey Graham was also in the room and while he didn’t specifically confirm the Presidential statement, he didn’t deny them and he had kind things to say about Senator Durbin’s comments on the subject:
“I appreciate Senator Durbin’s statements and have enjoyed working with him and many others on this important issue. I believe it is vitally important to come to a bipartisan solution to the immigration and border challenges we face today. I am committed to working with Republicans and Democrats to find common ground so we can move forward.”
Senator Durbin was the only Democrat in the room, but there were apparently several Republican Senators, including Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.). Their statement, however left me scratching my head.
In regards to Senator Durbin’s accusation, we do not recall the President saying these comments specifically but what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system, which does not protect American workers and our national interest.
How could it be that while Senator Durbin remembers it in great detail, and Senator Graham was appreciative of his commenting on it, somehow two other Senators don’t remember Trump using such language. It’s important to note that they didn’t deny that it happened, they just claim to not remember it and try to shift focus to a Republican talking point. To them its just politics as usual.
So, as far as I can tell, no Senator in the room denies that it happened. Some remember it and others just don’t remember it. What’s going on here?
Earlier today, I already thought it was unlikely Durbin was lying about the comments - it didn’t make sense for him to make something up out of whole cloth knowing that there is a room full of Republicans to pounce. Now that several other Senators have spoken and none deny it, it seems clear - Trump said it.
So, why would Cotton and Purdue claim they don’t recall the comments? How could Durbin remember it so clearly and yet Cotton and Purdue somehow don’t recall it at all. If they’re smart they’ll say they were on the other side of the room and couldn’t hear Trump. But suppose they were close enough to hear him, and yet they still don’t recall.
I think there are two possible explanations: either Cotton and Purdue heard the comments and remember them but made some sort of complicated calculation that claiming to “not recall” would give Trump political cover; or they simply don’t recall them.
There are some theories that Trump made the comments in order to resuscitate his base after his DACA performance which fringe supporters like Ann Coulter described as “the lowest day in the Trump presidency.” But hearing the comments and deciding to claim you didn’t recall would take calculation and coordination and raise risks. When Cotton and Purdue released their statement, the positions of various politicians on the matter were still unclear.
So, the other possibility is that while they “heard” the comments, they simply don’t recall them.
I suggest that most people that heard such comments would remember them. How could Cotton and Purdue possibly not recall them?
If I heard rhetoric that was unremarkable to me, either because it was the type thing I hear others say regularly or maybe its even something I think myself, I might not remember it.
Is it possible that Cotton and Purdue hear comments like Trump’s all the time and therefore didn’t find them remarkable?
Is it possible that Cotton and Purdue have similar views and therefore didn’t find Trump’s comments remarkable?
Occam’s razor!
