Failure to reject alt-right bigots damaging Trump

How can a president as successful as Donald Trump be so unpopular?

Fueled by his historic tax reform and an unprecedented regulatory rollback, the economy grew by 4.1 percent in the second quarter. The unemployment rate is just 3.9 percent — near the lowest it has been in nearly two decades — and The New York Times reports, “Job growth is on a record streak. American factories … are hiring at their fastest rate in two decades.” African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates are at near record lows. And the unemployment rate for women is the lowest it has been since 1953.

Virtually everyone is doing better thanks to the Trump economic boom. And yet his approval rating is stuck at 42 percent. Even worse, his disapproval rating has risen 11 points since his inauguration. And a stunning 45 percent say Trump’s doing a “poor” job.

Part of his disapproval is driven by the intensity of the Democratic “resistance” and the ongoing Robert Mueller investigation. Others dislike his tweetstorms, the chaos of his administration and his specific policies, such as family separations at the border.

However, many Americans who approve of Trump’s policies don’t approve of Trump because of his failure to definitively reject and ostracize the bigots who inhabit the fever swamps of the alt-right. A year after Charlottesville, Trump still hasn’t explicitly condemned them. “Riots in Charlottesville a year ago resulted in senseless death and division,” Trump tweeted Saturday morning. “We must come together as a nation. I condemn all types of racism and acts of violence. Peace to ALL Americans!”

Sorry, that’s not good enough. Not all types of racists were marching in his name in Charlottesville or shouted “Hail Trump!” at a rally after his election.

The Unite the Right rally in front of the White House on Sunday fizzling doesn’t let Trump off the hook. Why should Trump have to condemn them anyway? Because the ethno-nationalists of the alt-right have embraced him, and Trump has failed to make clear he doesn’t accept their support.

This isn’t hard. After some white nationalists praised a recent monologue she delivered, Fox News host Laura Ingraham went on the air and blasted them, declaring to “all white nationalists … you don’t represent my views, and you are antithetical to the beliefs I hold dear.”

Why can’t Trump bring himself to say the same thing?

Trump’s failure to reject the bigots of the alt-right not only tars his presidency, it also tars his supporters. The overwhelming majority of people who voted for Trump aren’t racists. They are good, decent, patriotic Americans who were sick and tired of being ignored by both parties in Washington. They had legitimate grievances that weren’t being addressed, from the opioid crisis to an economy that was not giving them the chance to work and pursue lives of dignity.

Trump’s election finally gave them a voice. But his failure to condemn the alt-right allows his critics to dismiss his supporters’ valid concerns and lump them in with the tiny minority of bigots who embrace him.

It’s also prevented him from expanding his support. With his record, he should be winning over millions of Americans who didn’t vote for him in 2016. Instead, his support is stagnant and his disapproval is growing.

Trump would gain far more supporters by rejecting alt-right bigots than he would lose.