IT looks as if, for once, Theresa May was first out of the Tory blocks to condemn the latest and surely most explosive online rant from Donald Trump.

She was quick off the mark to describe the president’s tweet, telling certain congresswomen to “go back” to their “crime infested” home countries, as “completely unacceptable” – not particularly strong or memorable given that these women are as American as July 4 and this latest outrageous attack comes from the son of an economic migrant.

However, at least May was first at something, in her last days as Prime Minister. But let’s press pause on congratulations for our PM finally discovering some moral backbone. After all she’s got a grudge to bear when it comes to this president, who only last week humiliated her after she’d welcomed him with pomp and royalty to the UK. And, much more importantly, she has not exactly covered herself in glory on community relations as PM or even less so as Home Secretary.

It took quite a few more hours for the PM wanabees, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, to crawl out from under the weight of their trade deal desperation and just about do the right thing by condemning Trump’s comments.

Johnson may have had his fingers crossed behind his back, and Hunt went so far as to describe the remarks as “UnBritish”, but neither of them could bring themselves to declare the plain truth that they were indeed the ramblings of a rampant, ignorant racist. Not much sign of a “Love Actually moment” from this pair of wimps.

As far as they are concerned, especially since Johnson threw former UK ambassador to the US Sir Kim Darroch under a bus, it’s better the bully you know. At least Hunt had the good sense to stick up for Darroch at the time, but a week is a long time in politics and as the finish line approaches in the Tory leadership race he’s obviously decided to be more careful when it comes to the maintenance of the so-called special relationship.

READ MORE: Theresa May's hypocritical reply to Donald Trump's 'go home' tweet

Given how far behind he is in the contest you would have thought he might have been better to throw caution to the wind. But then, of course, in leadership contests there can be consolation prizes for coming second and best not to burn too many boats!

Their beholden attitude is at least more honest than that of May, who, in her usual style, says one thing to the camera while doing something else entirely. When she was in the Home Office, the now infamous “Go Home” vans were dispatched to frighten migrants into handing themselves over to the authorities.

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It would seem that May only thinks its “unacceptable” to tell members of congress “to get back to where they came from” while believing it was perfectly alright to employ these kind of inflammatory racist tropes at home.

Of course, as is inevitable with those who deal in dirt, her “hostile environment” approach ended up targeting people who were in the UK perfectly legally and, indeed, like the Windrush generation, by invitation.

It’s just the same as her comments before Pride last week, when May pledged her life-long support for the LGBTI community, and then failed to turn up for the important vote at Westminster on same sex marriage in Northern Ireland while Stormont lies dormant.

This was a life-changing vote for many people in Northern Ireland, not least for the partner of the late Lyra Mckee, the young gay journalist who was murdered recently in a resurgence of sectarian violence, and who had long campaigned for this change to the law. So much for May’s life-long promise; it didn’t even last a few days.

In the final stages of her reign as Prime Minister promises have come more easily but her deeds are still lacking. As premier with three Faustian pacts to juggle, one with Arlene Foster and her “regulatory alignments”, one with the Brextremists and the final one with Trump and his foot-in-mouth diplomacy, there was little room left for May to manoeuvre. Johnson will be exactly the same, enthral to the hardliners at home and abroad.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon hits out at Donald Trump over congresswomen remark

So, thanks to our outgoing PM, Johnson, Hunt, and a little help from Nigel Farage, this is where we are in Britain in July 2019, in cahoots with a racist president. In this sense, “completely unacceptable” is too mild Theresa. It’s the Tory party’s appeasement of the Brexit Party prejudices, their pandering to the lowest common denominator, dog whistle-style politics that’s led the UK to the brink of disaster, in thrall to the fortunes of an angry old man who tweets his paranoia from the dark night of the soul. And Johnson is the perfect rabbit to take us further down the hole for tea with these mad hatters.

As a second-generation Muslim living in Scotland, I know just how it makes you feel to be told to “go home” by some man with tattoos snarling out the window of his white van as you’re out and about campaigning, or to be sent a similar sinister messages via email or poison pen to your parliamentary office. But it’s a whole different ball game when the president of the world’s superpower uses this kind of language on social media. It opens the flood gates for an outpouring of racism, it normalises hate and bigotry, it says loud and clear that you will only be valued and included if your face is the right colour and your religion state-approved.

One of the congresswomen targeted by Trump, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has got the guts to say what many of us think, calling the president’s words “the language of the white supremacists”. She’s warned that if Trump feels “comfortable leading the GOP into outright racism”, then this “should concern all Americans”.

As Johnson looks set to win the keys to number 10, this “language” also needs to concern all of the UK. To paraphrase Forest Gump, “racist is as racist does”.