I have long suspected that Trump’s antipathy towards immigrants is race-based. However, I did not think anyone from his administration would be stupid enough to state this. But today comes the news of Mr. Ken Cuccinelli (doesn’t sound like an American name to me!), the Acting Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services [sic] and his essays in literary criticism. He had earlier on Tuesday suggested a rewrite of Emma Lazarus’ celebrated poem that would run: “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet, and who will not become a public charge.” Later, in an interview, he backed away from his rewrite and claimed instead that the poem on the Statue of Liberty refers only to Europeans, i.e., says “Whites only.” What is this stupid, callous wannabe-WASP doing in government service. What an embarrassment for us all! I imagine he will next require an applicant for a green card to pass a color test and be able to prove that his grandparents and great-grandparents were white. He will have a team of right-wing scientists produce a color chart to guide the good old boys from ICE and the border patrol.

This is Trump all over. We don’t want <colored> people from shit-hole countries. Why can’t we get some <Aryan> people from Norway? Cuccinelli’s interpretation of Emma Lazarus’ poem is the clearest declaration of racism that we have heard from the Trump administration so far. As we approach the election we will hear, I believe, much worse.