In any ordinary year, Democrat Rep. David Trone of Maryland would be picking out furniture for his new Senate office.
In a deep-blue state, Trone has led in most of the Democratic primary polls for the open Senate seat there this fall. He should have a cakewalk to victory -- except former GOP Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has opened up a double-digit lead in polls, according to a Washington Post report earlier this week.
Never mind that, however. Thanks to a Freudian slip during a congressional hearing, Trone's lead in the primary might soon evaporate in a hurry, no matter how profusely he apologizes.
According to The Associated Press, Trone is under fire after he slipped and used a slur for black people during a hearing while addressing tax rates.
“While attempting to use the word ‘bugaboo’ in a hearing, I used a phrase that is offensive,” he said in a statement.
“That word has a long dark terrible history. It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation.
"I recognize that as a white man, I have privilege. And as an elected official, I have a responsibility for the words I use -- especially in the heat of the moment. Regardless of what I meant to say, I shouldn’t have used that language.”
You may, from the context, realize what slur he used.
WARNING: The following video contains graphic language that some viewers will find offensive.
🚨Maryland Democrat Senate frontrunner Rep. David Trone utters racial slur during House meeting:
"Republican j****boo"
Trone was talking about tax policy with OMB Director Shalanda Young, who is a black woman.
Trone later apologized, explaining that he meant to say “bugaboo." pic.twitter.com/kdrR33V8In
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) March 22, 2024
Speaking to the black director of the Office of Management and Budget during a House Budget Committee Thursday, Trone was on a roll, talking about how tax rates never once entered into his consideration of how he ran his business. (Before representing Maryland's 6th Congressional District, Trone was best known for being co-owner of Total Wine & More.
"It’s never, ever, once been a consideration," Trone said.
"So this Republican j**aboo, you know, that it's the tax rate that is stopping business investment, it's just completely faulty by people who have never run a business, they've never been there," Trone continued.
The National Desk noted that in a position paper by two academics, the slur "stems from the highly charged racial language used by White slave owners."
“These caricatures, whether spoken, written or reproduced in material objects, reflect the extent, the vast network, of anti-black prejudice,” the paper reads.
Reactions on social media were not kind:
There’s no mistaking what David Trone said here. Disgraceful.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) March 22, 2024
Democrats are racist
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) March 22, 2024
In the official media, however, this has mostly been met with crickets.
Now, keep in mind that Trone's Freudian slip racial slur came during a news cycle where the media is still wringing its hands over likely Republican nominee Donald Trump using the word "bloodbath" during an Ohio rally, a moment that's had surprising legs in our wash-rinse-repeat 24-hour cable news culture.
Never mind that Trump used it in the context of American autoworkers suffering a "bloodbath" as a result of Democratic policies regarding outsourcing production of autos to countries like China and Mexico, or that the usage was clearly metaphorical, not literal. It's been a bloodbath of "bloodbath" coverage -- and that's not even a racial slur. Imagine a slip like this from any Republican, much less Trump. A literal bloodbath would have ensued.
But Trone? Despite the fact that he used a racial slur during a committee hearing when speaking with a black woman, and despite the fact that his chief primary opponent is a black woman, this is going away about as quickly as it possibly can.
Why? Perhaps it's the fact that, according to the polls, both Democratic candidates are down bigly to Larry Hogan -- who may be a moderate Republican, but he was a popular two-term governor in the state. Losing Maryland would all but eliminate any chance for the Democrats to retain control of the upper chamber, considering the fact that several other seats are seen as being far more vulnerable.
Trone is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination -- which means that, unless this heinous slip destroys his campaign, he may be the only hope for the party this fall. If you want to know why "bloodbath" was such a big deal and this is mostly attracting the noise of crickets, look no further.
