"That was the central concept in an all-too-representative Democratic effort to explain away the mass movement aligning behind Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Back then, the liberal commentariat was mocking the notion that Trump's supporters were motivated by questions of economic policy like trade and globalization. What really mattered to the MAGA faithful, in this overconfident diagnosis, was pure race hatred; the alleged economic worries fueling the Trump phenomenon were really only a fig leaf for a resurgence of white supremacist rancor on the right."
"admitted in August 2016: Trump's racism explains why he has essentially no support from poor minorities but, at a time of stagnant wages and high inequality, it doesn't necessarily explain his appeal entirely. Even if, as I suspect, his stated empathy for the white working class is purely affected, some white workers believe it is sincere and support him for it."
A barrage of bad economic news has prompted Trump to intensify racially charged attacks against nonwhite targets. Economic anxiety served as a central explanation for Trump's 2016 rise, while many commentators emphasized racial animus as a driving force. Observers noted that racism reduces Trump’s support among poor minorities, yet stagnant wages and high inequality helped attract some white working-class voters. Some white workers perceive Trump’s empathy as genuine and continue to support him. Trump's electoral performance in 2024 showed strength among some nonwhite constituencies, complicating simple explanations based solely on race.
Read at www.thenation.com
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