The wrath of con

The U.S. House of Representatives formally condemned Don Trumpone's recent tweets attacking four House members, all of whom are women of color. The vote broke down largely along party lines with only four Republicans joining all Democrats and new ex-Republican Justin Amash to pass the resolution.

Trump himself urged House Republicans to hold firm prior to the vote.

“Those Tweets were NOT Racist,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show ‘weakness’ and fall into their trap.”

What follows might be obvious to many. However, I suspect that any number of Trump supporters will not know it and I want to explain it as calmly as possible.

Trump told Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan to "go back" to what he called "the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came".

As it happens, three of those representatives were born in the United States. Ilhan Omar was born in Somalia but emigrated to the U.S. and became a naturalized citizen.

All four of them are therefore citizens of this country. Just like you, I would guess.

Now, unless you're Native American, you or your ancestors came from somewhere else. Your ancestors might have come from multiple different places, in fact.

How would you feel if you were told to go back where you came from? Not just told, but told in a hostile tone of voice (even if you were told by tweet).

Would you interpret that as, "Go back to the house you woke up in this morning"? Of course not.

Would you take it as, "Go back to the state/county/town where you were born"? Again, no.

There is only one way to interpret "go back where you came from": it's another way of saying, "You don't belong in this country".

You grew up here. Your family and friends are here. You know no other home. You pledge allegiance to no other nation. Yet none of that counts. As far as the one who told you to go back where you came from is concerned, you don't belong.

If that's incomprehensible to you, it's because you're white.

I know, bringing race into the conversation is inflammatory. Yet it's at the heart of the matter, whether you like it or not.

You might want to believe it's a coincidence that none of the four House members Trump targeted was white. You might want to believe Trump's denial tweet, quoted above. You might want to believe that having Ben Carson, an African American man, and Elaine Chao, an Asian American woman, in his Cabinet means that Trump can't be racist.

Above all, you might want to believe that if you don't know you hold racist views, you aren't racist. Nobody wants to be accused of being something he isn't conscious of being, and being called a racist is only a little less toxic and offensive than being called a child predator.

I get all that. But the things you want to believe very likely aren't true.

Trump didn't target House members whose ancestors came from France or the UK, both of which many Americans, including Trump, are fond of considering troubled nations. He targeted people — women, in particular — who are obviously not white.

House members who are white, both male and female, have criticized Trump many times over the last three years. He didn't tell them to go back to their ancestors' homelands. He saved that message for four non-white women.

Why?

Because "go back where you came from" is a favorite message of racists.

The message brands you as racist.

It reveals that you don't think that people who look or sound different from you could possibly have been born here. It reveals that you think they aren't entitled to live here.

So when Trump angrily declares he doesn't have a racist bone in his body, he is simply wrong. However much you want to believe that he isn't racist, he is. However much he wants to believe he isn't racist, he is.

I doubt Trump worries about being racist but he does worry about being thought racist. That might make some of his supporters think hard about whether they really want to stand with him through thick and thin.

In short, he's conning us. Or rather, he's conning you, his loyal supporters.

Trump gets publicly angry because a lifetime in the murky world of real estate development has taught him that most people back down in the face of visible anger. Scared people don't unmask con men: that's the lesson he has absorbed to the depths of his being. His vehemence isn't a sign of his innocence, it's a sign of his commitment to his con — and of his urgent need to keep you committed to it as well.

There is no way to stand with Trump on those tweets without getting the stink of outright racism all over yourself. If you are okay with those tweets, you are racist.

Are you?