To paraphrase The Root’s editor-in-chief, Danielle Belton, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, rife with xenophobia, sexism and racism, made a cattle call of what previous conservative leaders had merely dog-whistled.

Racist campaign commercials are so pervasive that they hardly get heavy news coverage anymore. Everyone harks back to the classic Willie Horton ad from the 1988 presidential campaign, as if that were the last time a conservative politician’s racial demagoguery blatantly hit the airwaves for 30 seconds.

It’s one thing to put a presidential stamp on a candidate running for office in a swing state, and another to claim that a Democratic gubernatorial candidate supports a murderous gang.