Donald Trump and the KKK

The politics and morals of Donald J. Trump have long been questioned, since even before he announced his candidacy for president, but the new connections linking him with the Ku Klux Klan may be more shocking than anything that has come before.  The white supremacy group recently came out and publicly announced their support of Trump's campaign, but instead of disavowing them with the vigor one would expect out of the voracious businessman, Trump managed only a meek statement of disapproval.  He later came up with the rather lame excuse of a bad earpiece after catching heat from candidates and supporters of both parties, but the damage was already done.  How could a presidential candidate and, while of debatable moral standing, an undeniably smart businessman such as Trump think his best move would be to express lukewarm distaste for the most notorious hate group in the country?

The first (and most obvious) answer is that Trump is racist and refuses to apologize for it.  This could be true, and most likely does play a part, but seems to me to be insufficient to fully answer how a politician, whose job it is to maintain good public relation, especially in election season, could align himself with such an infamous group.  The more likely reason seems to me to be that he refuses to cut himself off from them precisely because he is a politician.  He doesn't want to lose the support of the large number of people who, while possessing decidedly unappealing ethical backbones, will still get to vote for the next president.

More worrying than simply why Trump is now partially associated with the KKK are the consequences it holds for the future of the country.  Ignoring the fact that our 45th president could be unabashedly racist, which would hold an entirely different set of consequences in itself, the idea that he could even contemplate the idea of keeping some connection with such a group.  The president is supposed to be the one who in times of trouble isn’t afraid to step up and make the tough decisions and say the tough things, what America might not like but what America needs.  Trump’s inability to denounce a despicable group like the KKK shows that, for all his money and fame, he isn’t in touch enough with the diversity of America to represent us on an international stage.  Whites and minorities alike should stand in the way of a candidate who doesn’t fully appreciate the melting pot that is the United States.