Last night, President Donald Trump chose to side with Georgia Democrats who have spent the last 72 hours trying to tamp down talk of a boycott of Atlanta-based Home Depot.
No, really. That's what happened.The episode started with an AJC report that Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus had decided to give away most of his fortune -- and that some of that cash would go to Trump's re-election effort. Offended liberals began spreading an ominous hashtag: #boycotthomedepot. But anyone who knows anything about Georgia politics knows that Home Depot philanthropy is quite bipartisan.
Late Monday night, state Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta, countered with her own Twitter message, pointing out that the company's other co-founder, Arthur Blank, is a Democrat who donated to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and other down-ticket races. "It's not all so cut and dried. So do your research before you #BoycottHomeDepot," she wrote. On Tuesday morning, Stacey Evans, a 2018 gubernatorial contender, offered an amen. Evans' Twitter message:
"Not everything is about politics. 1000s of Georgians put food on the table bc of jobs at @HomeDepot and many cmmy orgs benefit from the the co's generosity. Knee jerk reactions are out of control, y'all!"
So Trump was somewhat late to the game when he Tweeted the following last night:
A truly great, patriotic & charitable man, Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot who, at the age of 90, is coming under attack by the Radical Left Democrats with one of their often used weapons. They don't want people to shop at those GREAT stores because he contributed....
Followed by this:
....to your favorite President, me! These people are vicious and totally crazed, but remember, there are far more great people ("Deplorables") in this country, than bad. Do to them what they do to you. Fight for Bernie Marcus and Home Depot!
Trump made no mention of Blank.Clearly, it won't do for both Republicans and Democrats to defend Home Depot from a boycott. That wouldn't make sense. So here's what we'll do: Bernie Marcus supporters will patronize everything from the nuts-and-bolts aisle to pressure-treated lumber. Support for Arthur Blank will be confined to the power tool aisle west to the home-and-garden section. Everyone agree?
https://www.ajc.com/blog/politics/th...Z1eimDUQwRveL/