Former National Security Adviser Condolezza Rice tried to blame “the left” when asked about racist comments made by President Donald Trump.
During an appearance on CNN, host Fareed Zararia asked Rice about Trump telling Democratic congresswomen to “go back” where they came from and claiming there were “good people” among the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville:
“When you hear Trump, this is a repudiation of everything you were trying to do.”
Rice replied:
“The president needs to be a lot more careful. Race is a very delicate and raw nerve in America. We have the birth defect of slavery, we have the birth defect of a number of people being treated badly.”
And then Rice began to try and shift the blame:
“But I tell you. You need to be careful, Fareed. It’s not all coming out of the White House. I hear a lot coming out of the left of these issues to, that I don’t like the language that is being used about people, that because somebody looks a certain way or are of a certain color, they ought to think a certain way. And if they don’t think a certain way, then they’re really not black.
“We need to all back off.”
A few minutes later, Rice commented:
“And I think we will all be better off. I think this is a national project, not a White House project, not a congressional project.”
Zakaria, however, followed up by asking:
“But by saying that, do you have a responsibility to not just pretend there is an equivalence here?”
Once again, Rice tried to play both sides against the middle:
“People have to make their own determination. I think there’s an argument that we have a president of the United States and you’ve got to try to fight for the right things from whatever perch you have, within, without — however you with to do it.
“The reason that I specify all of our responsibilities, is if we just point the fingers at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., we’re not going to solve this problem.”
But isn’t the president, as leader of the country, supposed to set the tone for the nation? Or have we abandoned that notion as an excuse for Trump’s abysmal words and actions? And if we have, what exactly does that say about anyone willing to give Donald Trump a pass when it comes to being a decent human being?
Featured Image Via Screenshot
