For those who have studied the US president's long and troubling history of racism, the two events were more than mere coincidence. They were indicative of a man who has recently brought white nationalist perspectives from the margins back to the mainstream. Trump has vehemently denied that he is a racist, pointing to a modest increase in support among African American voters in last year's election, when his opponent was a Black woman.
Justice Department lawyers hammered Lisa Cook for not providing any explanation for apparent irregularities in her mortgage filings, telling a federal judge there was no reason to keep her in her role at the Federal Reserve. The DOJ lawyers said President Donald Trump's firing of Cook from the central bank's board of governors should take effect, and that Trump had no obligation to give her additional chances to argue she didn't do anything wrong.