Donald Trump's ongoing war with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will likely blow up in his face should he manage to become the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nominee because he refuses to halt the racist attacks on the GOP leader's wife.
In a column for Bloomberg, longtime political observer Robert George suggested that, had the former president confined his attack to McConnell, that would be politics as usual -- particularly for Trump.
However Trump can't seem to get off a shot at the Kentucky senator without taking a swipe at his wife, former Trump administration official Elaine Chao by repeatedly calling her "Coco Chow" and pointing out her Chinese heritage while questioning her ties to China.
In a recent post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden’s Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown? Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China.”
According to George, Trump's using Chao as a cudgel against McConnell will drive away Asian American voters who tend to be more conservatively , but also represent a growing and powerful voting bloc.
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As George put it, Trump's racist smears are not only "repugnant" but "politically stupid."
"There’s at least anecdotal evidence over the last several elections that Asian Americans are becoming more conservative on crime, education and possibly the economy," he wrote before explaining, "In New York state, not only did Asian American voters move significantly rightward during 2022’s gubernatorial election, they also helped Republicans pick up four US House seats. And an Asian American Republican ousted a 36-year incumbent Democrat on the New York City Council."
"Trump’s animus is almost pathological," George suggested. "And Republicans can’t excuse his behavior as just belligerent pettiness stemming from Chao’s resignation after Jan. 6 or the many times Trump was criticized by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Chao’s husband. How else to explain Trump’s odd mocking of Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin’s name: 'Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?' Could the insult have anything to do with Youngkin’s status as a possible 2024 candidate?"
According to the columnist, Trump is providing advertising fodder for Democrats in 2024 who will most certainly use his comments to target Asian American voters.
He added, "There are at least two ways for Republicans to avoid sabotaging their emerging relationship with the fastest-growing minority group in the country. They can denounce Donald Trump when he goes off on one of his racist rants, as he inevitably will. And they can nominate a presidential candidate who doesn’t have racist baggage."
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