Trump racism existed long before *$%T-hole" comment

Echo opinion published in the Arkansas Times:

Surprised about Trump racism?

Is anyone really surprised at Trump's latest racist (aka "shithole") comments? 

It's not like this is a new thing. He has a history of this kind of behavior, even predating his GOP primary run. 

What's disheartening is people continue to support Trump's presidency despite his reprehensible behavior while in office. It's almost as disheartening as knowing how many supported his candidacy in the first place. What does our own president's world view, as he himself expresses it, say about us as a country? What does this say about what we value as Americans? It says this is either who we really are, or a minority of citizens has a disproportionate amount of influence over our nation's political institutions. 

Whether the former or the latter is the case, neither represents the values of a true democracy.

R.L. Hutson
Cabot, Arkansas (largest city in Lonoke County)