Donald Trump has completely redefined what “normal” is in American politics. A decade ago, even the most virulently racist politician couldn’t be overt and open about their beliefs, and being exposed as saying outright Nazi stuff would end a career.
Those days are long gone, but an unfortunate consequence is that normalizing racism means that when Republicans need to distinguish themselves from their rivals, they resort to language that’d have Goebbels muttering “Uh, I think this might be going a teeny-weeny bit too far…”
