Iowa State Senator Becomes The First Elected Republican To Leave GOP Over Trump Racism

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Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 07:03 pm

Iowa state Senator David Johnson has become the first elected Republican to leave the party over Donald Trump’s racism.

The Guardian reported:
Johnson announced that he was changing his registration to No Party after Trump leveled accusations of bias at Judge Gonzalo Curiel, an American judge of Mexican heritage who allowed the release of some unflattering documents from a case against Trump University.

“I haven’t supported Mr. Trump at any point along the way but what I am calling his racist remarks and judicial jihad is the last straw,” Johnson told the Guardian.

Johnson compared Trump’s run for the Republican nomination to the rise of Hitler and said Trump won “by reducing his campaign to reality tv and large crowds and divisive language and all the trappings of a good show for those who like that kind of approach and that’s what happened in the 1930s in Germany.”

He added: “I think that’s all I need to say, but certainly the fascists took control of Germany under the same types of strategies.”

Sen. Johnson won’t support Hillary Clinton either, but he said that he will not sit by while his party, “buckles under the racial bias of a bigot.”
Johnson’s decision makes the weak behavior of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell look spineless in comparison. Ryan, McConnell, and other national Republicans have taken the tone of, “Aw, cmon, Donald, play nice,” as their nominee launches one racist tirade after another. At some point, the few remaining Republicans with backbones have to take a stand.

At least one elected Republican had the guts to leave his party, instead of sticking with a racist, because taking a stand might harm his political future. Republicans don’t have to support Trump. They can take Nancy Reagan’s advice and just say no.

Trump is a character test for Republicans, and those who fail by supporting him do not belong in public office.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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