“It is incredible to me that it is newsworthy in 2017 that the president of the United States has condemned racism and white supremacy.”

Vanita Gupta was incredulous. The president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sat down for the latest episode of “Cape Up” mere moments after President Trump addressed the national shame of Charlottesville, and she was not impressed. “What is normal has totally shifted.”

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Gupta took the helm of the Leadership Conference earlier this year after serving as the head of the civil rights division of the Justice Department in the Obama administration. From protecting voting rights and the dignity of transgender Americans to ensuring that police departments treated citizens equally, Gupta has been at the forefront of pushing the nation to fully live up to its ideals. “In so many ways, the Justice Department represents why elections matter,” she said. And what has happened in the past eight months has left her gobsmacked.

“I have a severe case of whiplash, not just from being at the Justice Department, but also, quite honestly, from being a civil rights lawyer my whole life,” Gupta told me at the Leadership Council’s office. “I just have never seen an administration in my lifetime that has been so intent on pursuing an anti-civil rights agenda … But I am heartened by the level of energy that exists in communities around the country that are pushing back.”

Listen to the podcast to hear Gupta talk about congressional Republicans who still support Trump’s agenda, the president’s lost credibility and her belief that the energy unleashed by Trump will not dissipate.

“I don’t think any of us who believe in our country and in American ideals are gonna give up and kind of just throw our hands up and cower into a corner,” Gupta said.

“Cape Up” is Jonathan’s weekly podcast talking to key figures behind the news and our culture. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts.