GOP strategist: Trump has ‘unleashed the kraken’ of identity politics

Republican strategist Ana Navarro says President-elect Donald Trump has “unleashed the kraken” by “using identity politics as a wedge issue.” 

{mosads}“Do you think when he calls Mexicans rapists and criminals that’s not identity politics? Do you think when he goes after Muslims and says we’re going to put them in a registry, that’s not identity politics?” Navarro said Tuesday during an appearance on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.”

Navarro, a frequent Trump critic, said the president-elect must now take responsibility for his rhetoric on the campaign trail.

“He has unleashed the kraken. That’s why. It is not a coincidence that after he got elected, hate crimes spiked up,” she said. “It is not a coincidence that the KKK celebrated his victory and wanted a parade in North Carolina or that David Duke celebrated his victory.”

Trump has faced criticism in the weeks since his presidential victory following reports that hate crimes increased after the election.

“He needs to know he has a responsibility in this and he needs to go out and try to unify the country,” said Navarro.

Trump on Tuesday said he did not want to “energize” the alt-right and denounced the conference held over the weekend at which white nationalists cheered his election and used Nazi-era terms and salutes.

“I disavow and condemn them,” Trump said at an on-the-record session with New York Times reporters and columnists when asked directly about the meeting.