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She did it. Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump a racist. He pulled his usual tit-for-tat and called her one back. He even got on Twitter and whined that,

“Hillary Clinton only knows how to make a speech when it is a hit on me. No policy, and always very short (stamina). Media gives her a pass!”

This from the media’s true darling.

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Did any Republicans jump to Trump’s defense? Chuck Todd, observing the situation at MSNBC, says no, that “The sound of silence among mainstream Republican elected officials yesterday is stunning.”

Watch courtesy of Right Wing Watch:

NICOLLE WALLACE: I have to say on the speech yesterday, when Hillary Clinton went to what all of the Republicans have done in the past on race, she cited George W. Bush going to a mosque. We’ve all talked about that. She cited John McCain standing up to someone who called President Obama a Muslim. I wish a Republican had given that speech.



CHUCK TODD: By the way, there’s an amazing thing that happened yesterday. Hillary Clinton called the Republican nominee [Donald Trump] a racist, and all these Republicans decided to come and say, “Oh my gosh you” — not a word. No Republicans outside the campaign said, “How dare you, Hillary Clinton, call the Republican nominee a racist.” The sound of silence among mainstream Republican elected officials yesterday is stunning.

What is interesting is the turn-around on racism in this campaign. Outright racists will deny being racists, claiming exercising free speech means you’re not racist, as though speaking your mind somehow frees you from being responsible for the content of your words. However, even Paul Ryan has pointed to Trump’s racism, as have other Republicans.

This is rank hypocrisy coming from a party that has pushed racist memes with great enthusiasm since Obama began his run for president. The GOP as a whole is as guilty as Trump for the things their nominee says. He is their nominee, after all. He represents their party. And even many of those who have criticized him have not withdrawn their endorsements.

Their endorsements are still out there, but as Todd observed, no Republican is really pushing them, and they are certainly not leaping to the defense of the ever more blatantly indefensible. The last few days have been another disaster for Trump, and trying to blame Hillary Clinton for his own sins isn’t going to get him out of the trouble in which he now finds himself.