Donald Trump s repeated bashing of his former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in appalling anti-Asian attacks is not only repugnant but politically moronic, a Bloomberg columnist warned Saturday.

Trumps racism is stupidly alienating a powerful voting bloc with rising influence, wrote Robert A. George.

If the Republican Party doesnt have the guts to confront Trump over his ideological or moral failings, how about doing it for crass political purposes? he asked.

George was pointedly referring to Trumps relentless, blatantly racist attacks on Truth Social against Chao, apparently largely as a way to get back at her husband, Trumps political nemesis Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and because Chao quit Trumps administration after the violence of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Trumps attacks echo his juvenile renaming of COVID-19 as the Kung Flu but are even worse, argued George.

Calling a Taiwanese American woman Coco Chow ... crosses a line rarely seen in politics (at least if you dont count Trump), writes George.

He says that racist name-mocking is, as Chao notes, painfully common for many Asian Americans

Chao, who had remained silent about the attacks for month , finally told Politico in a statement earlier this week: When I was young, some people deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation, she added. Trump doesnt seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.

The blowback will be on Trump and the Republicans , George warned. Trumps behavior and the lack of Republican criticism is so politically stupid, he observed, because many Asian Americans appear open to Republican policies. But Trumps animus is almost pathological, and he likely wont rein himself in, nor be checked by his party, George noted.

He warned that if Trump continues making racist comments about an Asian American woman who served more than capably in four Republican administrations (including his own) while other Republicans say not a word in repudiation well, the Democrats 2024 political ads practically write themselves. Especially if Trump is the nominee.

Check out the full Bloomberg column.