Something wicked this way keeps coming.
For the third year in a row in America, hate crimes are on the rise, particularly against African Americans and Jews. An FBI report identifies a total of 7,175 such offenses in 2017, a 17 percent jump from 2016 and the largest increase since 2001.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker deemed the report a "call to action," adding that identity-based attacks on people represent "despicable violations of our core values as Americans." The problem: The divisive tone set by Whitaker's boss, President Trump, has helped unleash the furies.
A week ago, a black White House reporter asked Trump if he believed that his adoption of a "nationalist" foreign policy empowered white nationalists. The President called it a "racist question."
It wasn't. Trump can't stop hate crimes himself, but he can and must take great strides to change the tone in Washington--and across America.
Editorial on 11/17/2018