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127

Racism Is Why Trump Is So Popular: Trump’s popularity with his base in the U.S. isn’t the result of economic anxiety, as many claimed in 2016. It’s about race and demographics. (theintercept.com)

submitted 3 months ago by tardigrada@beehaw.org to c/politics@beehaw.org

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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.

While the Census Bureau says there are still 195 million white people in America and that they are still the majority, the white population actually declined slightly in 2023, and experts believe that they will become a minority sometime between 2040 and 2050.

Every component of the Trump-Republican agenda flows from these demographic fears.

The Trump phenomenon and the surge of right-wing extremism in America was never about economic anxiety, as too many political reporters claimed during the 2016 presidential campaign.

It was, and still is, about race and racism.

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[–] taanegl@beehaw.org 4 points 3 months ago

Spot on. Racists will scapegoat people groups for the corruption within their own system, in effect blaming someone completely innocent of any wrongdoing against the economy, because that will always be and the politicians fault.

But of course, historically speaking, you screw up the economy and you you go "oh no, it's the Jews" or "the Darkies" or whatever people group you can find, because at that point you'd be stupid to not play that card.

I mean, what are you gonna do? Fess up and make amends? No. That's dumb, optically. Better hope it blows over and we can just forget the whole thing... or, you know what we can do...