Can US voters see beyond racism?

The response to Trump’s attack on a grieving family of Muslim immigrants is heartening

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Evan Vucci / AP

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that modern politics is a race to the bottom, with standards of discourse becoming increasingly strident, polarised and lacking in nuance.

A surge in racist incidents in Britain immediately after the Brexit vote, for example, suggested that extreme elements of society felt empowered to voice offensive views they had previously only shared among people they knew thought similarly. This has led some to ponder whether this is influencing or merely reflecting the views of voters.

The United States presidential election has provided many examples to support the race-to-the-bottom premise. Republican nominee Donald Trump, in particular, has characterised himself for making offensive comments that would have been unimaginable even just one presidential election cycle ago.

To quote just one example, Mr Trump suggested a United States-born judge’s Mexican ancestry disqualified him from adjudicating on a case in which he is involved. What is remarkable is that an openly racist comment like that only had a trivial effect on his popularity, which was back to normal within a week.

But his recent attacks on the grieving family of US Army captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim immigrant who died in Iraq in 2004, seem to have marked a tipping point. Americans' reverence and appreciation for those who have served in the military is well known, and particularly for so-called Gold Star families, such as Khizr and Ghazala Khan, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The widespread outrage at Mr Trump’s comments, including insinuating that Mrs Khan’s Muslim faith meant she was not allowed to talk, suggests that despite his offensive political rhetoric, the general public’s response is becoming more nuanced.

In this region, with our strong reciprocal ties with the United States, we should want to see evidence that the American people reject this kind of racism. Instead of politics being a race to the bottom, the more measured public response to Mr Trump’s frankly offensive remarks offers hope that people know when a line should not be crossed.