There will be “real consequences at the ballot box” for Republicans who pander to racist and xenophobic beliefs and don’t challenge those who hold them, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday.
Earnest was responding to a Donald Trump supporter who asked the billionaire GOP presidential front-runner if the U.S. can “get rid” of Muslims at a campaign rally, a sentiment that Trump didn’t tamp down.
“Are you surprised that this happened at a Donald Trump rally?” Earnest asked in response to a question. The reason Earnest said he wasn’t surprised “is the people who hold these offensive views are a of part of Mr. Trump’s base. Mr. Trump himself will be the first to tell you that he has the biggest base in Republican politics.”
“It is too bad that he wasn’t able to summon the same kind of patriotism that we saw from [2008 Republican nominee] Sen. [John] McCain,” who he said responded much more directly when someone in the audience made a similar comment.
It’s “unfortunate” that other Republican candidates haven’t taken Trump to task for not calling the supporter out on his view, but not surprising “because they are looking for those same votes,” Earnest added.
“Other Republicans have used the same strategy” to win, he said. President Obama is concerned about such rhetoric because it has had a “significant impact” on “the ability of Congress to function effectively and pass legislation like immigration reform,” Earnest added.
“This is a cynical strategy that too many Republican politicians have dabbled in because, for some of them, it’s proven to be successful. But there are consequences for it… at the ballot box too, because I’m confident the voters are paying attention,” he concluded.
By Friday, Trump’s camp had said Trump didn’t hear the question, and thus wasn’t in a position to reject the questioner’s assertion that Muslims should be forced to leave the country.
