On Monday, Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat who represents part of San Antonio in Congress and whose twin brother, Julián Castro, is running for president, tweeted out a list of 44 San Antonians who had made the maximum allowable donations to President Trump’s reelection campaign.
“Sad to see,” Castro tweeted, arguing the campaign contributions “are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’”
Republicans, as they say, pounced.
“Democrats want to talk about inciting violence? This naming of private citizens and their employers is reckless and irresponsible,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said. “He is endangering the safety of people he is supposed to be representing.”
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., compared Castro’s tweet to the list of targets supposedly made in high school by the man accused of killing nine people in Dayton, Ohio, on Sunday. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called Castro’s tweet “shameful and dangerous.”
Castro rightly responded no one was “targeted or harassed” in his Twitter post. He also noted the identities of donors are public information and that he didn’t list their addresses or phone numbers.
Castro said the point of naming names was to “lament” that people in the San Antonio area were making contributions that “fuel hate.” Even if you think his real purpose was to shame Trump supporters, that’s a far cry from inciting violence against them or subjecting them to the sort of incendiary language the president has used against immigrants.
Unlike the secret ballot, contributions to campaigns are a matter of public record — and for good reason. As the Supreme Court has recognized, disclosure serves the government’s interest in providing the electorate with information about the sources of election-related funding.
But even if Castro was within his legal rights in posting the names of local Trump donors, was this act of public shaming fair? Citizens contribute to candidates for many reasons. Perhaps some Trump donors from San Antonio support the president not because of his trashing of immigrants but because of his trade or national security policies, or because he will be the GOP’s nominee.
To which Castro could plausibly reply: “This is not a normal president and 2020 will not be a normal election. To support Trump (for whatever reason) is to support his campaign of hate.” It’s a hard argument to refute.
Michael McGough is the Los Angeles Times’ senior editorial writer, based in Washington, D.C.
