How Can You Drain the Swamp When You're Turning It Into a Cesspool?

He can't even honor some WWII veterans

“The name ["Pocahontas"] becomes a derogatory racial reference when used as an insult,” the Alliance of Colonial Era Tribes’ general secretary said in a statement Monday. “American Indian names, whether they be historic or contemporary, are not meant to be used as insults. To do so is to reduce them to racial slurs.”

Yeah, but what do they know?

“I think what most people find offensive is Sen. Warren lying about her heritage to advance her career,” Sanders said, referring to Warren’s claim — first brought up in 2012 by then-political opponent Scott Brown — that according to unproven family stories, she had Native American heritage.

“She said it was a racial slur,” ABC News’ Jonathan Karl pressed. “What is your response to that?”

“I think that’s a ridiculous response.”

“Why is it appropriate for the President to use a racial slur in any context?” NBC’s Kristen Welker asked.

“I don’t believe that it is appropriate for him to make a racial slur,” Sanders said, “Or anybody else.”

“A lot of people feel as though this is a racial slur,” Welker said.

“Like I said, I don’t think that it is, and I don’t think that was — certainly not the President’s intent,” Sanders said.

Because really, isn't the President's intent all that ever really matters?  He can't be a racist if he doesn't intend to be, amirite?

Besides, the real problem is not that Trump brought this up for no reason whatsoever while receiving the Navajo Code Talkers in front of a portrait of Andrew "Trail of Tears" Jackson,* but that Sen. Warren ever mentioned family stories that she has Native American heritage (which is an appropriate subject of mockery by the President on all occasions, somehow).

“Why is it appropriate for the president to use a racial slur in any context?” NBC News’ Kristen Welker asked.

“I don’t think that it is appropriate for him to use a racial slur, or anyone else,” Sanders replied, before adding, “I think Senator Warren was offensive when she lied about something to advance her career. I don’t know why no one is asking about that question and why that isn’t constantly covered.”

It would certainly distract from what Trump said, which was clearly a distraction from what Trump tweeted over the weekend, and from Roy Moore, and from global warming and the failing tax reform bill.  And anything else you were distracted from, like simple human decency.

*Which, it turns out, was one of the first things Trump did upon taking office:  have the portrait of Jackson hung in the Oval Office.  Clueless or venal, does it really make a difference at this point?

And while I'm adding footnotes, I have to include this conversation on CNN last night:

“How can Sarah Sanders stand there at the podium and say, ‘Oh it’s not a slur, the president doesn’t mean it as a slur,’” host Don Lemon asked, referring to Trump’s comments at a Native American World War II veteran tribute in the Oval Office on Monday, and Sanders’ subsequent claim it was not a racial attack on Warren.

“Don, the reason she does that is because her job is contingent on her being a serial, congenital liar in defense of Donald Trump’s latest outrages,” Wilson opined. “She probably has some tiny, shriveled husk left in her soul where she realizes this is the wrong thing to do, but she does it anyway because otherwise they’ll replace her.”

Trump defender Mike Shields countered that every press secretary “advocates on behalf of the president,” but Wilson buying it.

“Few presidents go out and sling racial overt code words like that,” Wilson replied. “Few presidents go out and crap on the dignity and legacy of people like these code talkers, these heroic veterans, and then send their press secretary out to answer questions in a way that isn’t saying, ‘Wow, the president regrets what he said today, he truly wishes he had not said that.’”

“Instead she goes out and tries to bury people in an avalanche of horsesh*t every day, because this is her job,” Wilson continued. “I get that’s her job. The White House press secretary has to defend the indefensible. In very few other cases in our modern history, has the press secretary had to go out and defend someone who is slinging stuff that is demonstrably racially charged.”

Shields tried to argue that Barack Obama’s press secretary lied when he told reporters, “If you want your doctor, you can keep your doctor.”

“Yeah, but how racial was that?” Wilson asked. “There’s a difference in arguing and advocating for policy, and going out and defending–

“Don, you asked, ‘What’s going on here, what’s going on in the country?’” Shields said, cutting Wilson off. “We just had the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday that we’ve had in 20 years, the economy is booming.”

Wilson visibly rolled his eyes at Shields’ remark.

“What does that have to do with calling someone a racial slur?” Lemon asked.

“It makes racism totally cool then?” Wilson chimed in.

"It's money that matters!/In the U.S.A!" (Sorry, Mr. Newman)

And then Eric had to chime in:

The irony of an ABC reporter (whose parent company Disney has profited nearly half a billion dollars on the movie “Pocahontas”) inferring that the name is “offensive” is truly staggering to me.

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 28, 2017

It just gets better.....