His column for Tuesday’s Washington Post is titled succinctly and pointedly on the Post web page as
We can’t pretend this is a normal election (although the text of the url that takes you there is even more direct: “the 2020 election is a fight for the soul of our nation”).
The opening paragraph clearly states Robinson’s case:
If President Trump and the Republican Party want the 2020 election to be a referendum on unabashed white supremacy, that’s their choice. Voters who embrace the views of David Duke and other proud racists will have Trump to vote for. Voters who disagree will have a Democratic alternative. Simple as that.
There is a lot in this column. Robinson continues by telling us
Make America Great Again has completed its sinister transformation into Make America White Again, and it’s foolish to pretend otherwise.
He does not think any sensible person should, in the diverse nation we both are and will continue to be, want such a fight. But then we might note, who ever considers Trump to be sensible? Robinson certainly does not, saying of him instead that
He is a demagogue with one highly effective political move: driving wedges.
There is much more to this column. He recounts the history of the past week plus, ending with Trump’s actions Monday labeling the four women of The Squad “a very Racist group of troublemakers.” Robinson goes on to point out how this will be Trump’s strategy going forward, to blame minorities for all the problems of those White to whom Trump is trying to appeal, this being a debasing of our political discourse Robinson calls a “kind of hideous scapegoating.”
There are three additional paragraphs, each shorter than the previous one, until ending with a paragraph of only two short and direct sentences.
The first of these final paragraphs reads like this:
Democrats, independents and Republicans disgusted by Trump’s use of race as a wedge cannot pretend this is a normal election. Republican officeholders and candidates who stand by Trump, perhaps for reasons of self-preservation, must be pressed: Do they believe all Americans, regardless of race, have a right to participate in our democracy, or not? Do they believe Americans who disagree with Trump’s policies should leave the country, or not? Do they agree with white supremacists that whites are somehow threatened by “racist” minorities, or not?
To this I respond by noting the various titles Robinson holds. He is an associate editor of one of the most important journalist organizations in the world. Will he persuade the reporters at the Washington Post to ask the questions he has just posed? Another title is as a political commentator for MS-NBC. Will he when he appears emphasize the need for such challenges? Will the other talking heads around him agree with such an approach?
Then there is the penultimate paragraph:
Anyone tempted to support Trump because of his economic or foreign policies should be constantly reminded that this is not an a la carte menu. If you plan to vote for Trump because of his tax cuts, for example, or his uncritical support of Israel, you’re also voting for his racism.
That does not require any questions. One can simply respond to anyone who tries to pivot to things like tax cuts, or Israel, or more likely regulations and/or judges, with a statement: that means you are supporting his racism. One can say that to politicians, one can if courageous enough say it to family and acquaintances who insist continuing to support Trump. Perhaps they still have enough shame to be affected. Perhaps they will admit their own racism. But we ALL have to do it. Why? I’ll let Robinson tell you with his final paragraph:
This is nothing less than a fight for the soul of the nation. Everyone needs to take a stand.