It isn't necessary to look deep into the heart of Donald Trump to notice his policies and attitudes are racist. And while Chuck Todd is required by NBC suits to push the "in his heart" line, Sherrod Brown has the perfect answer to that. And I note that Brown uses actual books he's read to compose an argument. Something Trump doesn't do, ahem.

TRANSCRIPT:

CHUCK TODD: What does it say that something like this is now -- folks are now being held accountable for blackface in ways. Frankly, we didn't have that kind of -- that strong of a moral code, I would argue, in our politics until recently. Why do you think that is?

SHERROD BROWN (D-OH) Well, I think this country hasn't dealt well with the issues of race. I mean, we have a president who is a racist. Who we have --

TODD: Let me pause you there. You believe in his heart he's a racist?

BROWN: Well, I don't know what in his heart means. I know that he built his political career knowing what he was doing on questioning the legitimacy and the birthplace of the President of the United States. I know there's been all kinds of news reports what he did early in his career on housing. We know -- I mean, read "The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Read "The Color of Law" about housing discrimination and decades and decades of housing discrimination. And we know the Trump family including the now sitting president played to that and deepened that. So these issues... Charlottesville was only a symptom and only a more public viewing and outing, if you will, about the president's views about race. I mean, there's just no question about that. We know the president doesn't tell the truth frequently. We know he lies frequently, and we know of his racist comments and background.