Trump’s Attacks on Leaders of Color Stoke His Base Yet Pose 2020 Risks
- Poll shows most U.S. voters think president is racist
- Racial tension infuses speech at Jamestown commemoration
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Donald Trump has long tested the line between keeping his loyal base outraged and aggrieved while preventing mainstream Republicans from bolting his coalition, but his attacks on minority lawmakers risk upsetting the balance and imperiling his re-election.
The president has kept controversy over his racially divisive attacks at a high boil into a third week by leveling criticism at Representative Elijah Cummings, the House Oversight chairman, who represents a majority-black Maryland district Trump called a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”