A free piece of advice to the politicians out there: Never, ever insinuate offhandedly that a swath of your opposition is motivated by latent racial animus. Short of ironclad proof — say, footage of your opponents admitting to being gigantic, unabashed racists — the claim sounds accusatory and defensive.
Yet Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.) stumbled into that no-no Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Montenegro offers Adriatic adventures without the crowdsThe Week Recommends There is room for everyone in this Balkan destination
-
'Although deepfake porn is a global problem, South Korea has been hit particularly hard'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The deadliest plane crashes in US historyThe Explainer American Eagle Flight 5342 was the first deadly U.S. passenger crash since 2009
-
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China rattle marketsSpeed read The tariffs on America's top three trading partners are expected to raise the prices of everything from gas and cars to tomatoes and tequila
-
Elon Musk operatives access US payment system, aidSpeed Read The Trump administration has given Musk's team access to the Treasury payment system, allowing him to track and control government spending
-
Trump says 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico start Feb. 1Speed Read The tariffs imposed on America's neighbors could drive up US prices and invite retaliation
-
Trump blames diversity, Democrats for DC air tragedySpeed Read The president suggested that efforts to recruit more diverse air traffic controllers contributed to the deadly air crash
-
White House withdraws Trump's spending freezeSpeed Read President Donald Trump's budget office has rescinded a directive that froze trillions of dollars in federal aid and sowed bipartisan chaos
-
OpenAI announces ChatGPT Gov for government useSpeed Read The artificial intelligence research company has launched a new version of its chatbot tailored for the US government
-
Caroline Kennedy urges Senate to reject RFK Jr.Speed Read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin said he should not become President Donald Trump's health secretary, calling his medical views 'dangerous'
-
GOP senator reneged on voting against HegsethSpeed Read North Carolina senator Thom Tillis provided the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
