A few notes to a friend who thinks Donald Trump's support comes from economic issues:
No. It isn't. Trump's supporters are the spear's edge of the White Nationalist movement in America. They're the hardcore right wing of the right wing party. I don't believe the anger is about economics, but race-based. Every other Trump supporter on Twitter who trolls me has the #WhiteGenocide hashtag in his bio. (Yes, overwhelmingly "his.") The anti-immigrant rhetoric is racism wrapped up in legalities. The anti-"welfare" rhetoric comes from the belief that dark-skinned people are mooching off the system. The gun rights rhetoric comes from the fear that the dark-skinned people will come and hurt them if they aren't armed to the teeth. They've coalesced around hatred of a dark-skinned man in the White House. The economic or alleged constitutional issues that they pretend animate them were not discussed at all when a white Republican was in the White House. Fortunately, I don't think their schtick will play outside the neo-John Birch movement that is the Tea Party and Trump's support won't expand beyond the hardcore White Nationalists who currently propel him.
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