Joe Biden has suggested in that past that to even walk into a 7-11 store one must have an Indian accent. Is Joe a racist? This is where the equivocating comes in. Bette and Joe said racist things because we are all a little bit racist, goes the progressive shibboleth, it is built into the systemic horrors of the United States. But they are racists of the acceptable variety. As are most of their political team, apparently. Trump is what they call a “real racist,” but why? Again, what does this even mean?

The closest that I can get to an answer is that Trump is unrepentant. Yes, this is true. With almost no exceptions, Trump does not apologize. He says what he believes, leaves it out there, and we are all free to judge. And judge we do. And in the judgment of millions and millions of Americans, including non-white Americans, he is not a racist. What do we do about that? Are those people all racists too?

This week Trump claimed that Rep.Elijah Cummings is a racist. In my mind it’s an absurd allegation, but on the other hand, Cummings has badly served minorities he represents for decades. Under his representation, these constituents of his have not seen their fortunes advance. Is such negligence to a minority community a sound basis for an allegation of racism? I honestly have no idea. Because frankly, we have no idea what this once fairly clear term means anymore.