Geraldo Rivera Is Being Dragged Online For Saying Donald Trump Is ‘Better Than’ His Racist Tweets


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Donald Trump getting slammed for something controversial he said is an everyday occurrence, but a tweet thread he dropped Sunday led to even more backlash than usual. While attacking the “squad,” the quartet comprised of first-year congresswomen of color online, he told them they should “go back” to their home countries, even though three are American-born. His tweets were swiftly condemned as racist, and even a few — and, so far, only a few — on his side took umbrage.

One of those was Geraldo Rivera, a longtime Trump friend who has mostly stuck by him as he’s evolved into one of the most controversial commanders-in-chief in the nation’s history. He tried to offer a complex take on the president’s latest disaster, while pleading for some sanity.

“Sad to watch my friend @realDonaldTrump take low road regarding @AOC of the Bronx, @RashidaTlaib of Detroit @AyannaPressley of Boston & @Ilhan of Somalia & Minneapolis,” Rivera said, pointedly listing each congresswoman’s hometown. “Let’s stick to issues & steer clear of language that’s xenophobic even racist. @POTUS you’re better than that.”

Well, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time. What stuck out to most people was the kicker — the “you’re better than that” directed at someone who — day in, day out, over the decades, and especially since assuming the most powerful office in the world — perhaps is not.

https://twitter.com/Osman__13/status/1150521404703436800

https://twitter.com/themaxburns/status/1150523623897219072

https://twitter.com/fullmoonfevered/status/1150529211993657344

Of course, the easiest way to disprove Rivera’s thesis about Trump’s deeply buried innate decency is to utter these four words: