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Moment of Truth for Richard Burr and North Carolina Republicans: If You Support Trump, You Support Racism; If You Don’t Support Racism, Rescind Your Support of Trump

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It’s clear that Donald Trump is espousing an overtly racist vision for America.

He says a U.S.-born judge of Mexican ancestry cannot sit in judgment of Trump because, well, he’s of Mexican ancestry. He doubts a Muslim judge could be fair. He started his rise in the GOP as a “birther” — claiming the President was not born in America. He calls Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “criminals.”

And that’s before we consider his campaign promises: round up 11 million immigrantsban all Muslims from admission into the U.S.; revoke birthright citizenship to 4.5 million “anchor babies;” rescind protections for 700,000 Dreamers on his first day as President; round up Syrian refugees already resettled; etc.

North Carolina Republicans, like Richard Burr, who endorsed Trump have a choice to make: Continue to embrace an authoritarian demagogue who promises to divide the country along racial and religious lines and trample on America’s democratic norms and traditions; or take a stand and revoke your support for Trump.

Stand by Trump and you stand for racism. Stand by Trump and you are more interested in party and power than in defending our founding ideal that all men and women are created equal. Stand by Trump and you will be forever defined by your capitulation.

There’s no room for semantics and word games – if you have officially endorsed Trump, if you have announced you are voting for Trump, or if you are supporting “the eventual Republican nominee,” you are helping to elect Donald Trump to our nation’s highest office and own Trump’s agenda. And no, it’s not enough to “disagree” with Trump’s comments about Judge Curiel. What does it say about your priorities, your principles, and your moral convictions that you can recognize that Trump’s racism is unacceptable, yet are working to elect this man to the presidency?

As prominent conservative Erick Erickson wrote of Trump’s comments on Judge Curiel: “These were not racially tinged or racially charged attacks. This was racism plain and simple … The attacks are racist. To claim that someone is unable to objectively and professionally perform his job because of his race is racism. And damn the GOP for its unwillingness to speak up on this … the Party of Lincoln intends to circle the wagons around a racist. Damn them for that.”

According to Tim Eakins, Director of North Carolina’s Voice, “Not long ago, Senator Richard Burr said that he looks forward to working with Donald Trump. If Burr does not condemn Trump’s blatantly racist agenda and rescind his endorsement, North Carolinians must conclude that he supports Trump’s racist vision for America. Here in North Carolina, we are moving forward not backwards and we expect our leaders to protect the dignity and contributions of all of our people, regardless of the color of their skin or their heritage.”