<p>Let&#8217;s face facts: Our president holds racist views.</p> 
<p>Opinion</p> 
<p>Donald Trump&#8217;s words hit the headlines again with reports, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-attacks-protections-for-immigrants-from-shithole-countries-in-oval-office-meeting/2018/01/11/bfc0725c-f711-11e7-91af-31ac729add94_story.html?utm_term=.4d101b61d534" type="external">first in The Washington Post</a>, that he railed Thursday against immigrants from &#8220;shithole&#8221; countries, such as Haiti, El Salvador and in Africa, and called for taking more people from Norway, which is nearly 90 percent white.</p> 
<p>But those who have been paying attention already suspected the darkness in Trump&#8217;s heart.</p> Today's top news by email 
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<p>It should have been obvious from the despicable things he said <a type="internal">about Mexican immigrants</a>.</p> 
<p>It should have been clear from his <a type="internal">anti-Muslim rants</a>.</p> 
<p>It seeped through in his reaction to the deadly march in Charlottesville, Va., <a type="internal">putting white supremacists on the same level as civil rights demonstrators</a>.</p> 
<p>And now it&#8217;s emerging again in the debate over <a type="internal">Dreamers</a> and <a type="internal">Salvadorans who have been protected from deportation</a>. Trump says he wants an $18 billion wall on the border with Mexico, and an end to the visa lottery and &#8220;chain migration.&#8221;</p> 
<p><a type="internal">His entire immigration policy seems to have the goal</a>of reducing immigration from non-white countries and somehow boosting immigration from Europe. Trump says he wants to put America First in all matters. But this isn&#8217;t the America that many of us cherish &#8211; the nation of immigrants, of the Statue of Liberty.</p> 
<p>Advocacy groups for immigrants condemned what Trump reportedly said, and <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/house/368806-house-democrats-plan-measure-to-censure-trump-over-shithole-countries-remarks" type="external">Democrats plan to introduce a censure resolution</a>next week. Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, tweeted that the president&#8217;s comments &#8220;are further proof that his Make America Great Again agenda is really a Make America White Again agenda.&#8221;</p> 
<p>The <a type="internal">White House issued a statement</a>that didn&#8217;t deny his slur, but defended his stand on immigration. Early Friday, Trump, who never apologizes for anything, <a type="internal">offered a denial in a series of tweets</a>, though it&#8217;s difficult to take him at his word given his track record of lies.</p> 
<p>&#8220;The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used,&#8221; the president tweeted. &#8220;What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made &#8211; a big setback for DACA!&#8221;</p> 
<p>Later Friday, Trump signed the proclamation for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Reading prepared remarks, he called the civil rights icon a &#8220;great American hero&#8221; who preached racial equality. He refused to answer questions about the uproar, including whether he was racist. To say the scene was jarring doesn&#8217;t begin to capture how bizarre it was.</p> 
<p>This is beyond the <a type="internal">daily drama and craziness coming out of this White House</a>, and is already hurting the nation&#8217;s standing around the globe. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California said Trump&#8217;s &#8220;vile comments&#8221; only &#8220;make the jobs of Americans stationed all over the world harder &#8211; soldiers, diplomats and businesses.&#8221;</p> 
<p>&#8220;We all need to stop pretending that there are no consequences when the most powerful person in the world espouses racist views and gives a wink and a nod to the darkest elements in our society,&#8221; Feinstein said in perhaps her toughest statement yet on Trump. &#8220;If the president can&#8217;t control himself and lead this country with the authority, dignity and leadership it requires, then he shouldn&#8217;t be the president. There&#8217;s no room for racism in the Oval Office.&#8221;</p> Related stories from Sacramento Bee 
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<a type="internal">Trump denies 'shithole' comment but Illinois senator confirms the remarks</a> 
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<a type="internal">Trump denies &#8216;shithole countries&#8217; comment and says Haiti slurs were &#8216;made up by Dems&#8217;</a> 
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<a type="internal">Trump asks why US should accept immigrants from &#8216;s---hole countries&#8217;, sources say</a> 
<p>Yet the sad truth is that all of this may actually solidify Trump&#8217;s support among some in his base &#8211; the one-third of Americans who apparently will stand by him no matter what he does or says, no matter how outrageous or unfair or damaging.</p> 
<p>For me, however, the conclusion is inescapable. He&#8217;s a stain on the presidency. <a type="internal">He&#8217;s a demagogue</a>. And he very well could be a full-on racist.</p> 
<p>It&#8217;s terrible. But it would be even worse if we ignore it.</p> 
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<p>Foon Rhee: <a href="" type="external">916-321-1913</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/foonrhee" type="external">@foonrhee</a></p>
President Trump shows his true colors | The Sacramento Bee