GOP Senator On Trump And KKK: He’s ‘Inexperienced In Expressing Himself’

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2011, file photo Republican Senator of Utah Orrin Hatch, 78, serving in his sixth term on Capitol Hill, calls on the president to kick start a dormant U.S. trade agenda in Washington. Every ha... FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2011, file photo Republican Senator of Utah Orrin Hatch, 78, serving in his sixth term on Capitol Hill, calls on the president to kick start a dormant U.S. trade agenda in Washington. Every handshake counts in Utah’s unique nominating system, even for a senator seeking his seventh term. To avoid a primary, Hatch needs at least 60 percent of the 4,000 delegates expected to vote. In spite of Hatch having spent more than $5 million since the beginning of 2011 to defend his seat, the fate of one of the most powerful senators in the country is coming down to just a few hundred votes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Following Trump’s interview over the weekend in which he avoided disavowing former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said that the Republican presidential frontrunner just doesn’t quite understand how to express his beliefs.

“I think it’s up to us to make it clear that we don’t tolerate those types of racist organizations and I don’t know many people who would believe that we do,” Hatch said on Tuesday when discussing how Republican lawmakers should approach Trump’s comments, like those he made regarding the KKK, according to CNN. “I think deep down, I don’t think Donald Trump tolerates it either. I think he is just inexperienced in expressing himself at things like that.”

After Trump dodged questions about whether he would disavow an endorsement from Duke, Republican lawmakers have been prompted to clarify that they do not support the KKK.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Tuesday denounced the KKK and bashed Trump for not clearly disavowing Duke.

“If a person wants to be a nominee of the Republican Party there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry,” he said. “The Republican Party does not prey on people’s prejudices.”

And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) condemned Duke and the KKK on behalf of Senate Republicans.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for trnc trnc says:

    Oh, yeah, that’s been Trump’s problem from day 1 - he doesnt’ know how to express himself.

    Try this - “The KKK sucks, and anyone who associates themselves with the KKK can kiss my ass!” Doesn’t really seem that hard.

  2. Drumpf expresses himself very well, he explicitly tells people to go to hell, he’ll shoot someone on a whim, he hates minorities and other non traditional groups, he hates foreign countries that won’t or don’t do his bidding, he completely embraces the white supremacist movement. So Hatch shows himself to be a Drumpf *sshole when he defends what Drumpf said.

  3. “Look, I don’t want to waste a lot of time," Trump said. "I’m going to get along great with Congress, OK? Paul Ryan, I don’t know him well, but I’m sure I’m going to get along great with him, and if I don’t? ***He’s gonna have to pay a big price, OK?***”

    Hatch has a point. Someone better versed in expressing themselves would have said "Paul Ryan can fuck off. And he better watch himself, that's a nice little family he's got there, it'd be too bad if something happened to it."
  4. Avatar for dweb dweb says:

    Translation…we haven’t had time for Donald to sit down with Frank Luntz and learn the secret decoder buzzwords that help us express our bias, racism, sexism, and true economic beliefs in language that makes it all seem like exactly the opposite. How do you think we’ve spent the last eight years in a concerted effort to block every action by President Obama and then been able to convince voters that it is all Obama’s fault?

    And besides, Frank has been awfully busy appearing on CBS News as a “political consultant” (where his day job is never spelled out) and hasn’t had a lot of time for schooling this obvious novice.

    More at: http://quietmike.org/2014/08/06/frank-luntz-political-prostitution/

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

24 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for lestatdelc Avatar for mt_from_cc Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for dweb Avatar for commiedearest Avatar for trnc Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for hindugrass Avatar for wwss Avatar for mrcomments Avatar for mantan Avatar for sherlock1 Avatar for pmm080 Avatar for ottnott Avatar for catfish Avatar for neastsider Avatar for pshah Avatar for marksieving Avatar for ba_al Avatar for ursine1 Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for sickofitall Avatar for mkclpi

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: