'Trump is exactly who I thought he was -- a racist': Louisiana congressman

A Louisiana Democrat denounced President Donald Trump as "racist" for his public support for the lost cause of the Confederacy.

Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) appeared Thursday on CNN's "New Day," where he told the hosts that the president's refusal to consider renaming military bases that honor Confederate generals was extremely telling.

"Donald Trump is exactly who I thought he was," Richmond said, "and that's a racist."

"The real question is, who are we?" he added, "and whether this nation will rise up to this moment, and I believe if looking at the people in the street, the uncomfortable conversations that are starting to happen all around this country, this country is a great country and people are starting to recognize and come together and heal these wounds, and this guy in the White House is just unable to comprehend the moment."

Richmond said the president was incapable of leading or uniting, and was instead stoking divisions in hopes of keeping the loyalty of his hardcore base.

"He's unable to heal this country," Richmond said, "so of course he's going to retreat where he always retreats and that is when his numbers look bad, when things are not going his way, he doubles down on racism. So it's not surprising, it's exactly what I expected. But the real question is, if you're a Donald Trump supporter, the question is why, and I think that the country is bigger and better than that, and he's showing us exactly who he is."