White resentment put Donald Trump in the White House. And there is every indication that it will keep him there, especially as he continues to transform that seething, irrational fear about an increasingly diverse America into policies that feed his supporters’ worst racial anxieties. … The guiding principle in Mr. […] Read more »
Why the next black president could be a Republican
… As the nation has sorted itself along party lines and antipathy has risen between the two sides , white Republicans who might harbor racial animus are willing to shelve that impulse to ensure that Democrats lose elections. “At a minimum, the level of ideological polarization in American politics masks […] Read more »
Resentful white people propelled Trump to the White House — and he is rewarding their loyalty
… In March 2016, the political scientist Michael Tesler and I showed the importance of “white identity” during the Republican primary. Trump did particularly well among whites who strongly identified as white, who thought whites suffered from discrimination, who thought whites were losing out on jobs to minorities, and who […] Read more »
Donald Trump Knows How to Push Our Buttons
Last week, when President Trump called on the police to use rough justice in dealing with violent Latino gangs, there was a clear method to his madness. … Underlying Trump’s defiance of law enforcement norms is a calculated strategy advocating the use of force, with the twofold goal of pushing […] Read more »
Discrimination against whites was a core concern of Trump’s base
The Justice Department’s plan to investigate and sue universities over affirmative action admissions policies they determine discriminate against white students represents a shift in the department’s civil rights division. But the move also addresses a central concern for voters who fueled President Trump’s victory last year: that whites are losing […] Read more »
Trump gambles on cultural frustration over economic self-interest
Chaos may have seemed the only guiding principle in the White House last week. But amid President Donald Trump’s Twitter tirades; the vulgar rant from his new communications director; the open internecine sniping; and the White House staff shakeup, the President offered two revealing hints about the policy direction he […] Read more »