Max Ehrenfreund writes for the Washington Post: “Trump has repeatedly said he disavows Duke and the Klan. The problem is, that is the only thing Trump has said. He hasn’t explained why the Klan’s white nationalism was wrong, and his disavowals are starting to sound somewhat perfunctory.”
What is wrong with white nationalism? What about Jewish nationalism? Black nationalism? Japanese nationalism? Why is only white nationalism wrong?
Does Max Ehrenfreund have a dog in this race? Jews traditionally fear gentile nationalisms (which usually exclude Jews), but white nationalism most of all (because it evokes Nazis and the Holocaust).
“New polling data from the American National Election Studies suggests a few reasons that Duke might see sympathy for his cause among Trump’s supporters. Some of them appear to be worried about their status and identity as white Americans, a concern that has allowed him to build a broad electoral coalition that crosses the usual demographic and ideological boundaries within the Republican Party.”
My God, that is horrible? Not exactly sure why, but I am sure I will be told that this is horrible. Unlike all other peoples, whites are not allowed to have group interests. They are supposed to be thrilled to turn over their ancestral homelands to other peoples. Israel is not expected to be thrilled to turn over its country to non-Jews. Why should white Protestants feel differently about the nations they created (US, Canada, Australia, England, New Zealand, Holland, etc).
Max concludes:
Trump has created a new kind of Republican primary coalition. Many of those who support him are white voters who are uncomfortable with the way America is changing demographically, and they believe that the status of people who look like them in society is in decline.
In the past, analysts have typically divided Republican primary voters into several groups: evangelical, moderate, secular and conservative, moderately conservative, and so on. In Trump’s coalition, these divisions are secondary. For certain GOP voters, racial consciousness is more fundamental than their other commitments.
As Trump’s success has shown, the faction that votes based on white racial identity — while not a majority of the party — can be the dominant one when there are several candidates competing for the nomination.
