The Rev. O’Neal Dozier has had enough of Donald Trump’s racism, he says. The 30-year “faithful and dedicated member” of the Republican Party wrote an op-ed for the South Florida Times on Thursday announcing that he is leaving the GOP to become an independent.
“One of the main reasons I have decided to leave the Republican Party is President Donald Trump’s refusal to unequivocally denounce the white supremacist groups,” the pastor of Worldwide Christian Center Church in Pompano Beach, Fla., wrote.
“He refuses to denounce these hateful groups because he believes they are part of his voting base and they helped him to become president,” Dozier continued. “President Trump needs to do what other Republican presidents have done and that is unequivocally denounce white supremacist groups and tell them that he does not want their support and there is no place for them in America.”
A former NFL player (he played one season with the Chicago Bears in 1974), Dozier also singled out Trump’s battle with NFL players over their right to protest during the national anthem and his attacks against black athletes and sports figures as reasons to leave the party.
“President Trump’s past and present actions and attitude towards black people are causing white people and the Republican Party to become more insensitive to the plight of black people,” wrote Dozier.
Causing? Oh, pastor. Have I got some news for you.
Finally, Dozier, who is a virulent homophobe, called out Trump’s “ungodly character,” saying it is corrupting and redefining the GOP. Dozier laments this because, he writes, “the Republican Party was the only political entity in America that could possibly reestablish God’s righteousness and decency in America.”
Whew. Sir, I want to congratulate you on your newfound clarity and wisdom when it comes to Trump’s racism—but Trump has been telling you exactly who he is.
Conspicuously absent in Dozier’s op-ed are Trump’s remarks from the very beginning of his campaign, when he referred to Mexicans as “rapists” and “criminals.” Or Trump’s blatant discrimination against black tenants when he began building his real estate empire. Trump has been showing his bigoted ass for a very long time, and anyone who voted for him knew exactly what they were signing up for—and made their peace with it.
And it’s hard to ignore Dozier’s gaping, Katrina-sized blind spot when it comes to the GOP’s position as a righteous and morally decent party—especially as it regards people of color. Modern Republicans have long been happy to denounce hate groups while simultaneously dog-whistling to their anxieties for the purpose of milking their votes.
So you’ll excuse me, pastor, if your long-delayed come-to-Jesus moment with Trump and the GOP leaves me wanting.
Read more at the South Florida Times.