As it has become more apparent that President Donald Trump faces a tough road to reelection, he has turned to old habits of offering incendiary rhetoric meant divide Americans and inflame racial tensions. Trump’s recent use of the term “Kung Flu” to describe the Coronavirus is only one of the latest examples of his use of racist language to bolster his support. Conventional wisdom holds that his use of uncivil, derogatory rhetoric was key to his winning the presidency, with his 2016 victories cited as evidence that incivility “works”—particularly for Trump and the Republican Party.
Yet there is reason to be skeptical of this claim. CONT.
Bryan T. Gervais (U. of Texas at San Antonio), LSE USAPP