I thought it was interesting to see state Rep. Greg “Trumper” Howard, R- Stonington, and state Sen. Heather “Trumper” Somers, R- Groton, leap to social media recently to condemn the appearance of a guy in a white hood at a small Trump demonstration in Mystic.

The senator and representative found it “disturbing” and “appalling” that such a blatant symbol of racism, the Ku Klux Klan white robe, would turn up in their own community next to a Republican political demonstration no less.

And they recognized the need to run as fast as they could from any suggestion that they, by association with the candidate at the head of their ticket, were complicit.

We later learned, of course, that the guy in Klan robes was not part of the Trump demonstration, but rather trolling the Trumpists, making the point that Trump has made his MAGA Republican party the endorsed choice for white supremacists.

Like Howard and Somers and everyone else, I found the appearance of the white robe in Mystic to be a nasty affront to all of us, such a chilling reminder of our country’s most horrible racist past.

The problem, though, is that condemning the white hood and robe, no matter who’s wearing it, is not enough.

The problem for Somers and Howard and all the other Connecticut Republicans running for office here is that Donald Trump has made their party the party of refuge for racists.

Both Trump and his running mate JD Vance have doubled down on the ridiculous racist trope that Haitians are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. There is zero evidence of this as the state’s Republican governor will tell you.

Indeed, the horrible Trump/Vance lie is making victims out of a community of Haitians, here in the country legally, who were lured to Springfield in the first place with the promise of jobs that needed to be filled.

This is, of course, what we have come to expect from Trump, who praises the “good people” among white nationalists and entertains them at his golf courses.

It’s the same Trump we remember calling Haiti a “----hole country,” long before he began promising to deport the Haitians living legally in Springfield, because he says they are eating pets, presumably white people’s pets.

I’m sorry but I don’t see much distinction between that kind of racial hatred and wearing a white robe.

And yet “Trumper” Somers and “Trumper” Howard in Connecticut, falling over themselves to condemn a guy in a white robe, won’t utter a peep of criticism of the racist hater in chief at the head of their ticket.

Indeed, as Trump supporters holding down his ticket here in Connecticut, they said nothing when the former president turned up at a 9/11 remembrance service with a 9/11 conspiracist, a hater who calls herself a “white advocate.”

Of course, it is not just the Republicans representing Stonington who are not calling Trump out for his racism. Add to that list from eastern Connecticut state Rep. Holly Trumper Cheeseman of East Lyme, state Rep. Devin Trumper Carney of Old Lyme and state Rep. Doug Dubitsky of Chaplin.

Of course, there is also former state Rep. Mike France, the most enthusiastic Trumper of them all, who has no voice at all for calling out Trump racism.

Not only are none of them apparently bothered by the horrible racism that has found a home in their party, but they don’t seem to mind that the party is now led by someone who wants to deport millions of Americans, who won’t say he wants Ukraine to win the war against Russia, who won’t promise to support the results of the election and who refuses to rule out signing a national abortion ban as president.

It should worry a lot of Connecticut voters that the GOP is now the party of abortion bans, and if Republicans win Congress and the White House, a national abortion ban could soon become a reality here too.

And that is who they are unless they say otherwise and condemn Trump, like so many other leading responsible Republicans have already done around the country this election season.

Think about all that, a contested election, a losing Ukraine, deportations of people who you know from your community and an abortion ban here in blue Connecticut, before you vote Connecticut Trumpers into office.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com