Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro is gunning hard for the title of “Most Progressive” in the Democratic 2020 primary.

First, he endorsed government-funded abortions for those who are "trans female" (biological males who identify as female). Now, he has come out against the American flag as designed by Betsy Ross, declaring it a “painful” symbol for minorities in the United States.

The 2020 primary is a race to the progressive bottom, and Castro wants first place. Badly.

"Look, there are a lot of things in our history that are still very painful," the 2020 Democratic candidate said Wednesday in an interview on CBS News. "The Confederate flag that still flies in some places and is used as a symbol.”

His remarks came amid a larger discussion about Nike’s decision this week to withdraw a new shoe featuring Ross’ American flag after former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick raised concerns about the design.

Castro said he is “glad to see” Nike pulled the sneakers from retailers. He also said the U.S. would do better to highlight minority symbols and stories.

"We need to get not only to blocking things that don’t — I think, advance us, but also to celebrating those things that do, and that will round out the whole nation's understanding of why we became the successful nation that we became, that everybody has had a role in that," Castro said.

This is nuts. It is also shameless pandering to the Democrats’ progressive base. If you want to know why an ostensibly sane person like Castro would get behind the “Betsy Ross’ flag is racist” shtick, look no further than MSNBC, the official news channel of left-wing progressivism in the U.S. Asked Wednesday to “explain why this particular flag, this symbol, is so offensive to some,” MSNBC contributor Michael Eric Dyson offered a … unique perspective.

“Well it hails from the Revolutionary period, of course, of this nation’s founding, which was deeply embroiled in, you know, enslavement, of the owners of slaves, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the like,” Dyson said. “But also it’s the recent use of this flag that has been most opprobrious. Right-wing white supremacists have used it as a rallying cry for their own cause.”

For the record, Ross’ flag was also displayed prominently at President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address in 2013. Just throwing that out there. Also, are we just going to ignore that progressives are steamrolling of the legacy of one of America's most celebrated feminist icons?

“Words matter, symbols matter too,” he added. “Why don’t we wear a swastika for July Fourth? Because I don’t know, it makes a difference. The cross burning on somebody’s lawn, why don’t we just have a Nike, you know, celebration of the [cross] — well, because those symbols are symbols of hate.”

This is the tune the Left is playing. Castro is dancing to it.