And see how the republican base and party reacted.
> so the country may not be as racist as people perceive.
Or the country didn't feel it could express its racism until Trump gave it a bullhorn and an endorsement.
They reacted the exact same way any political party would react against their opponent.
> Or the country didn't feel it could express its racism until Trump gave it a bullhorn and an endorsement
sure they could have, by not voting for him (Obama)
No, no they didn't. "any political party" does not react against their opponent winning an election by spending 8 years denying they have any legitimacy and stonewalling them entirely.
> sure they could have, by not voting for him (Obama)
Where do you get the idea that the people who voted for Trump also voted for Obama?
The closest she came to it was an aide's campaign memo suggesting pointing out Obama's "lack of american roots" (in the sense that much of his boyhood was spent outside mainland US). It was not about doubting Obama's citizenship or birthplace, and that line of attack wasn't even used in the campaign.
Even Obama agrees with me here. He apparently confronted Clinton about it in 2007.