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A quick point about the new nationalism . . .
One would think that a movement focused on “social cohesion” and that rejects economic conservatism, a movement that seeks to restore virtuous community values and a sense of common citizenship would . . . /1
One would think that a movement focused on “social cohesion” and that rejects economic conservatism, a movement that seeks to restore virtuous community values and a sense of common citizenship would . . . /1
be making a GIANT effort to heal racial divides. Two of the most religious and churchgoing communities in the U.S. are black Democrats and White Evangelicals. You will never build an enduring governing coalition around white Christians, a shrinking share of the population. /2
But the new nationalists are going to absolutely double-down on Trump in 2020. They’re going to be taking the lead in explaining why words that are racist in any other context somehow aren’t racist when the president of the United States says them. /3
They’ll keep having to swat away alt-rightists and white nationalists, and bobbing and weaving when one of their own goes off-script. Through 2020 (and if Trump wins, through 2024), their nationalism will be inextricably tied to a man who deliberately provokes division . . . /4
to a degree I’ve not seen in my adult lifetime. He is the foundation of their movement. His re-election will be seen as their vindication. And they’ll almost certainly stay with him, explaining away his every sin, because they know they rise as he rises. /5
No of course they won’t go away if he loses, populism/nationalism has long been a part of the right coalition, but they will spend their time furiously explaining why the previous year of embarrassing and enthusiastic support for Trump shouldn’t define them or their movement. /6
If he wins, expect them to grow more like him. More pugilistic and more committed to base-mobilizing polarization that is white identity politics disguised as nationalism. After all, there will be no other proven model of “nationalist” mobilization other than Trump. /7
I can imagine a social-conservative, economic-populist coalition that could become a key part of the American landscape, but it would have to blast through racial barriers rather than build them. And it’s hard to blast through racial barriers when Trump is your champion. /end
