title:  GOP Senator Drops Brutal Truth Bomb On His Colleagues: Trump’s Comments Are ‘Definition Of Racism’
text: When Donald Trump began his one-man quest to smear the judge presiding over his Trump University lawsuit using appalling racial rhetoric, it was offensive but not surprising. After all, this is a man who began his campaign by labeling Mexicans  rapists  and  murderers  in his very first speech. What was surprising was the sheer level of cowardice on display from Trump s fellow Republicans. Faced with a candidate who said Muslims and Mexicans can t be his judge, conservative politicians tried to distance themselves from the comments, but not actually call it what it is: Racism.Sen. Mitch McConnell, for example, managed to avoid the term  racism  a total of three times in one interview. The sidestepping was so egregious that it prompted Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to call McConnell out on the Senate floor as an example of  Republican spinelessness.  Likewise, many other Republicans released statements saying they found the comments  unacceptable  but never articulated why. The vagueness was surely intentional. It s going to be hard to win a general election in an increasingly diverse America when your candidate is openly spewing racism. Standing up to that sort of hate mongering would take courage   and that s something that is solely lacking in today s GOP.However, one man who seems to have little interest in the toeing the party line for an unapologetic bigot is Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) who said what his fellow Republicans were thinking but terrified to say: Donald Trump s smears on his judge are racism. It s as clear as day.Public Service Announcement:Saying someone can't do a specific job because of his or her race is the literal definition of "racism."  Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) June 6, 2016Sasse isn t wrong. Trump has repeatedly said that the judge in his case is out to get him because of his  Mexican heritage.  Judge Curiel isn t Mexican, he was born in Indiana, but the very fact that he is of Hispanic ethnicity makes him suspect in Trump s eyes. In a sit down with CNN s Jake Tapper, Trump admits as much:Tapper: I don t care if you criticize him. That s fine. You can criticize every [legal] decision. What I m saying is, if you invoke his race as a reason why he can t do his job Trump: I think that s why he s doing it!Sasse is one of the few Republicans left who hasn t caved to the pressure to stand behind Trump as the nominee. Unfortunately for the Republicans that had hoped to cower behind their wall of silence and ride this out, Sasse made that all but impossible. Trump s comments are the  literal definition of  racism'  and they need to own up to that or risk looking complicit in those statements. Sasse has given them an opportunity to come clean. It s now up to them to take it.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images