The Great White Hope: Donald Trump, Race, and the Crisis of American Democracy

• In Event: Race and American Democracy: Problems and Solutions

Abstract

The election of Donald Trump caught many by surprise. As a nominee of a major party, he displayed a level of political ignorance unparalleled in recent memory. Further, and most important for our purposes, he won the White House with the type of race-baiting not seen since George Wallace’s unsuccessful campaign in the 1960s. How does one account for his victory? Further, what are the implications, if any, for American democracy? Drawing on our prior work on the Tea Party movement, we put Trump’s victory in historical context and, in doing so, show why his triumph should’ve surprised no one. Linking Trump’s triumph to reactionary movements of the past, we argue that the outcome of the latest presidential contest is simply an extension of a long process that began with the Know Nothing Party of the 19th Century. In the process, we demonstrate that economic anxiety and attitudes about global trade deals, the conventional account for his win, had virtually nothing to do with motivating his core voters. Instead, we demonstrate that Trump’s rise, like the formation of other reactionary movements, was fueled by a sense of existential threat: the belief that “real American” culture is under siege. Unlike other accounts of Trump, we also illustrate the political implications of the sense of existential threat Trump symbolizes. We also explore another application of threat: the threat the election of the 45th president poses to the progress of people of color (POC). We demonstrate that POC who felt threated by Trump’s candidacy were far more politically engaged, mobilized, and felt more solidarity with other POC, rather than those who felt less threatened. The book also shows that POC who perceived a sense of existential threat were also willing to forge an interracial coalition to resist Trump’s presidency.

Authors

• Christopher S. Parker, University of Washington

• Matt A. Barreto, University of California, Los Angeles