Editor’s Note: LZ Granderson is a journalist, political analyst and columnist for The Los Angeles Times. He was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago and the Hechinger Institute at Columbia University, and is a co-host of ESPN LA 710’s “Mornings With Keyshawn, LZ and Travis.” Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @lzgranderson. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.
It was such an easy sell – images of white kids from Kentucky wearing Make America Great Again hats and antagonizing elderly Native Americans seemed like racism personified. Right?
Not so fast. For those who believe all President Trump supporters are just a bunch of racists, the initial videos that surfaced of a confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial last weekend served as kindling for a fire that’s been burning since he was elected in November 8, 2016. Then the story got complicated.
I covered that 2016 election, from the numerous primary debates to that historic Tuesday night, and it’s been my experience that a significant number of Donald Trump’s supporters are racists. It has also been my experience