'Brazen chauvinism and racism': Dem slams potential nominee with white nationalist ties

Sen. Chris Murphy sounded the alarm on reports that President Donald Trump’s administration was on the verge of naming a former White House speechwriter to a top State Department role despite being previously fired over ties to white nationalists. Murphy appeared rattled by what he called the “radical views” of Darren Beattie — who is expected to take on the role of acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs — but told CNN’s Jake Tapper that Beattie's reemergence in the new Trump administration isn’t surprising. “My understanding is that he is up for this post,” Murphy said Monday during an appearance on CNN’s “The Lead,” adding that Beattie "sounds particularly dangerous.” “The brazen chauvinism and racism – he also has been a very frequent apologist for the Chinese genocide of Uyghurs, he says the United States should have no interest in protecting Taiwan and we should in fact hand Taiwan to the Chinese – he has really radical views,” Murphy said. “I don't know, they don't seem super different than Elon Musk, who has amplified vicious antisemitic information on Twitter, who gave the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute on Inauguration Day,” Murphy said about the views of Beattie and Musk, before revealing what he believed to be a key qualification for serving in the Trump 2.0 administration.