Joe Lockhart, who was the press secretary for President Bill Clinton during his last two years in office, is boiling mad at President Trump in the aftermath of his feud with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD). And if you are one of Trump’s supporters, he’s got a message for you:

Anyone who supports a racist or a racist strategy is a racist themselves. 2020 is a moment or reckoning for America. Vote for @realDonaldTrump and you are a racist. Don’t hide it like a coward. Wear that racist badge proudly and see how it feels.

— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) July 27, 2019

Lockhart appeared on CNN‘s “New Day” on Sunday where he was interviewed by anchor Victor Blackwell, who on Saturday had launched into a viral short rant defending Baltimore against Trump’s attack. Here’s how how Lockhart responded when Blackwell asked him a surprisingly fair question about his tweet:

Blackwell: “Joe, you took it one step further. You actually — and I’m going to read your tweet. ‘Anyone who supports a racist or a racist strategy is a racist themselves. 2020 is a moment of reckoning for America. Vote for Donald Trump, and you are a racist. Don’t hide it like a coward. Wear that racist badge proudly and see how it feels.’

I’m going to read that sentence again: ‘Vote for Donald Trump, and you’re a racist.’ Americans who vote for the President because, let’s say, they’re firmly pro-life, they are racist because they believe that he is right on that issue no matter who the eventual Democratic nominee is, is pro-choice, that pro-life voter is a racist because they vote for Donald Trump?”

The former Bill Clinton White House press secretary doubled down as he responded: “I think so. I think racism only exists because it’s supported. If people didn’t support racism, you wouldn’t have racists.”

After recalling that there were “hints” of Trump’s racism in 2016, [Lockhart] continued:

“They’re making this an explicit strategy. They’re saying — and it’s a logical extension of his immigration strategy — they’re saying they want to divide America into two groups — whites and nonwhites — and that is a racist strategy. So my point is, if you go into the polls and when you say you support Donald Trump, then you’re supporting his racism, and that’s the foundation of being racist.”

Watch video of Lockhart’s remarks below:

After facing a wave of criticism for his tweet and appearance on CNN, he doubled down later:

At the end of the day and after hearing from so many Trump supporters, my opinion hasn’t changed. Trump is signaling he’s going to run a race based campaign and if you’re with him you’re just like him

— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) July 29, 2019

Let’s just start off with the obvious point first here:

#JoeLockhart works for #CNN and served as Bill Clinton's press secretary. Today he's giving an impromptu lecture or morals and ethics. Pull up a chair. https://t.co/nyA5IZI2LY

— Milo™ (@chasbottom) July 28, 2019

Right? Getting a lecture from a Clinton diehard about morals and ethics is like getting a lecture from Clinton himself on the the virtues of staying faithful in your marriage.

As I wrote earlier today, Trump’s criticisms about Cummings and his district are not about racism. Cummings is just one more in a long line of Democrats who have attacked both Trump and his policies, and Trump is doing what he always does when he is attacked: He attacks back.

But for purposes of discussion, let’s say Trump was a racist as Lockhart emphatically asserts. If that made everyone who supported him a “racist”, what does Lockhart’s standard say about about his own support for Bill Clinton?

Lockhart wasn’t just his spokesman from 1998-2000. Lockhart worked for the Clinton 1996 reelection campaign, too, enthusiastically supporting a second term. He was also the deputy press secretary for Clinton before he was promoted to the press secretary role in late 1998.

Clinton’s wandering eye, overly handsy nature, and propensity to sleep around on Hillary Clinton all were well-known by that time. Clinton had also by that time been accused of multiple instances of sexual assault and harassment.

So by Lockhart’s standards, he was endorsing adultery, sexual harassment, sexism, and possibly sexual assault in working for both the Clinton campaign and administration.

See how this works, Joe? Two can play at this game.

Bonus take from Brit Hume:

And to think Hillary only called Trump supporters “deplorables.” https://t.co/y2BHTe1mQ4

— Brit Hume (@brithume) July 28, 2019

Ah, memories.

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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –