PBS correspondent Yamiche Alcindor questioned Donald Trump during his Wednesday "news conference" and airing-of-grievances, about whether calling himself a "nationalist" was emboldening white nationalists around the country. Because he is an incompetent, blustering, and venomous toad of a man, Trump responded by calling it a "racist question." (Alcindor's question was apropos on a day when a leader of the white nationalist "Identity Evropa," a hate group, photographed himself smiling on White House grounds.)
Naturally the White House wheeled out a big ol' barrel of Kellyanne Conway to defend Trump's outburst on the teevee, and naturally the teevee shows continue to allow her on despite her history of lying repeatedly and egregiously to the public during these interviews. But what the White House is going to hang their hood on is that there's a difference between "nationalism" and "white nationalism" and it's very racist for Alcindor, a black woman, to assume Donald Trump meant the "white" part. Plausible deniability! Plausible deniability, everyone!
“I believe that what he was saying to your colleague Yamiche is that the implication of racism in the word ‘nationalist’ is very unfortunate, because there’s a difference between nationalism and white nationalism,” Conway told “PBS NewsHour” anchor Judy Woodruff.
There's no point in having this argument so we're not going to. Trump himself chuckled when he announced himself to be a "nationalist," saying "we're not supposed to use that word," which demonstrated he knew perfectly well that he was inviting controversy when he did it. His defense, and it is a good one, is that he is such a goddamn stupid man that he doesn't quite remember why, after two years of accusations against his administration that it associates with white nationalists, embraces white nationalist talking points, promotes white nationalist conspiracy theories, and has a f--king white nationalist as primary author of its immigration "policies," that the term might be problematic. But every last person around him does and Conway's cheap, lying game is just that.
The racists know what he means. Other Republicans know what he means. Everybody knows what he means.
“I resent tremendously always being put into this toxic stew of racism and sexism and misogynism and xenophobia. It’s a lot on our shoulders, because it’s not fair,” Conway said.
The public spokesperson for defending rape allegations, plainly racist immigration policies, child prisons, and the "president's" unrelenting games of footsie with white nationalist groups is having a sad, everybody. She is quite put out about all this.
Except it's very likely she's not, and is lying about that too. Every time the Trump Administration does something particularly odious, it is Kellyanne Conway who is first to the cameras with the most effusive praise of the extremely bad, possibly crooked, possibly racist thing.
What is the purpose, I ask again, of continuing to book her? Of what public value are her entirely predictable, entirely insincere statements?