The Squad shakes up the Washington establishment -- on both sides of the aisle

Enter Trump, who needs to make everything about him. He interrupted a necessary civil war within the Democratic Party. As conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh noted, Trump ignored the first rule of politics: When your opponents are brawling among themselves, grab some popcorn and stay out of the way.

Of course, Trump couldn't stay out. His ego wouldn't let him. In any circus, he needs to be in the center ring.

So Trump jumped into the fray. He tried to defend Pelosi against the implication that she was racist for singling out the Squad for a condescending scolding. He did so by being racist and singling out the Squad for a condescending scolding.

Then the Squad pushed back against Trump, and the president responded. Back and forth, they went.

Along the way, Trump sparked a conversation over the common insult of telling people of color to "go back" to one country or another, even when they were born in the United States.

Speaking this week from the White House, Trump seemed to reference the Squad when he said: "If you're not happy in the U.S., if you're complaining all the time, very simply, you can leave. You can leave right now. Come back if you want, don't come back, it's OK, too. But if you're not happy, you can leave."

As a Mexican American who has written about immigration for 30 years, I wish I had a nickel for every time I was told to "go back to Mexico." My entire family and I could fly first class to Puerto Vallarta.

Still, don't miss the hypocrisy -- on both the left and the right. Liberals who were offended last week that anyone could accuse Pelosi of racism couldn't wait to do the same to Trump. Conservatives who delighted in seeing Pelosi accused of racism took offense when that charge was again leveled at Trump. The deck never runs out of race cards.

It's no wonder so many Americans hate politics. Maybe the Squad can change some of that.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.