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Racism Is Why Trump Is So Popular

theintercept.com Racism Is Why Trump Is So Popular

Trump’s popularity with his base isn’t the result of economic anxiety, as many claimed in 2016. It’s about race and demographics.

Racism Is Why Trump Is So Popular

TO UNDERSTAND THE rise of Donald Trump, you don’t need to go to a diner in the Midwest or read “Hillbilly Elegy,” J.D. Vance’s memoir.

You just need to know these basic facts:

In 1980, white people accounted for about 80 percent of the U.S. population.

In 2024, white people account for about 58 percent of the U.S. population.

Trump appeals to white people gripped by demographic hysteria. Especially older white people who grew up when white people represented a much larger share of the population. They fear becoming a minority.

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Racism Is Why Trump Is So Popular

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  • John Brown didn't get to kill enough slavers, that's why we're all here. We gave the racists a little rope, and now they're trying to hang us with it. Been that way ever since Reconstruction ended.

    Opposition to racism must be enduring. It must be absolute. It can brook no compromise, because compromise is tacit agreement to the validity (however small or marginal) of the opposition's point, and racism is based on an absurdity. And when a society starts validating absurdities... well, look at Trump.

113 comments