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Trump has nothing to give his base. His tax cuts didn't help them unless they are really rich. His tariffs are killing their farms and ranches and the welfare checks are going to their foreign competitors. What he offers is the promise of whiteness as political & cultural power.
Trump is the ultimate Barbecue Becky. He vows to give white Americans license to determine who is American. Who can be here. What language they must speak. W.EB. Dubois described this as a kind of racial wage; meant to replace real economic benefits with racial ones.
That power was wielded for generations even by white children over black adults. It was wielded by white men over all women. Why do Trump's people love him? Because he is promising to put things back to that way. And the fight against that is THE fight. Future or past. That's it.
For that social power, his supporters will even trade away their healthcare and their kids' healthcare - since Trump and their party are vying to take that away too. As long as they have their guns and their leader keeps hurting "the right people" they don't care about the rest.
