Democrats and others — people of good will who are other than Democrats — are justly appalled that President Trump told four nonwhite and female extremely left-wing members of Congress to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” It was taken as shorthand for ridding the country in general of those who aren’t white.

It would in fact be obnoxious if he had said that, but Trump never said, “Go back where you came from and stay there.” What he said was, “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it’s done.”