Greg Sargent has a great piece that explains the so-called Donald Trump phenomenon. In what should have been filed under “No Shit Sherlock”, Sargent’s piece sums up what we’ve known for some time now. That would be, that Trump’s messaging manages to resonate with white folks who feel like they have been screwed by other racial groups. It’s what I call the audacity of whiteness. Which is the historical backlash to any progress by African-Americans:
A new analysis of Washington Post/ABC News polling strongly suggests this may be the case. A Post/ABC national poll this month asked: “Which of these do you think is a bigger problem in this country — blacks and Hispanics losing out because of preferences for whites, or whites losing out because of preferences for blacks and Hispanics?”
A large plurality of Republican respondents nationally say that the bigger problem is whites losing out, by 45-19. I asked crack Post polling guru Scott Clement to break these numbers down among supporters of Trump and the other candidates, and it turns out that Trump supporters believe this in far larger percentages.
A majority of Trump supporters — 54 percent — believe the bigger problem is whites are losing out. Meanwhile, 37 percent of Trump’s supporters believe this strongly, again higher than among any other candidate’s supporters.
To be clear, correlation does not necessarily mean causation, and this is only one of many potential factors explaining Trump’s support. As Clement and Max Ehrenfreund write for Wonkblog, the poll also found that Trump supporters are more likely to say they are struggling economically. But as they explain, when you take these economic findings along with the above views on the racial question, it suggests that Trump supporters tend to believe their “losses are being caused by other group’s gains.”
I think political pundits do a disservice when they characterize Donald Trump supporters as being angry. They’re not angry. They’re fucking ignorant. Their ignorance fuels their fear, bigotry, and xenophobia. And, what’s funny about it all is that they’re mostly white.
I’m sorry, but if you’re white in America and you feel like you’ve lost something because an undocumented immigrant picks cabbages for 50¢ an hour, you’re not doing “whiteness” right. Like, so not right.
But no, in your head a vote for Trump improves your lot in life. I hate to tell you this, but it ain’t gonna happen, dumbass. Personal responsibility aside, you’ll still be a failure walking the earth blaming minorities, President Barack Obama, and “the mooslims” for your poor choices.
I swear it’s a damn shame when God blesses you with all that White Privilege and you can’t even use it right. Hell, it ain’t like Trump has allowed it to stop him. No, he’s rich and your ass is stuck with a thirty-year payment on a thirteen inch flatscreen TV from Rent-A-Center.
That ain’t our fault, fool.