WaPo: Trump And Breitbart Are Normalizing Bigotry

From the editorial board of the Washington Post:

One of the most disturbing aspects of the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump is the legitimization it has provided for extremist discourse. Rhetoric that properly has been taboo in this country for a generation — overt racism, sexism, anti-Semitism — has begun to seep back into politics, with Mr. Trump and his closest associates providing cover. A telling example appeared this week in the form of a personal attack on the website Breitbart, whose executive chairman is Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman. Its subject was Anne Applebaum, who is one of The Post’s most distinguished opinion columnists, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and — as the item repeatedly and gratuitously pointed out — a woman of Jewish origin.

“Hell hath no fury like a Polish, Jewish, American elitist scorned,” proclaimed the Breitbart article. Anyone who doubts the intention of the Polish foreign ministry’s chosen propagandist in using those terms need only read the comments beneath the article, which — uncensored by Breitbart staff — reek with anti-Semitic slurs. We sought Mr. Bannon’s reaction to his website’s publication of the article, and in particular to its identification of Ms. Applebaum as Jewish. The only response from an aide was that the Trump campaign chairman was on leave from the website. In other words, Mr. Bannon has no objection. Expect more openly anti-Semitic rants at his website — and, if Mr. Trump is elected, in the United States at large.