Trump’s popularity with his base isn’t the result of economic anxiety, as many claimed in 2016. It’s about race and demographics.

Lots more good stuff with citations in the article, but this bit really ties it all together:

 

The right-wing obsession over racial demographics becomes obvious in the “pro-natalism” movement, which advocates for conservatives to have more children to take control of society. The mission of the movement is “to build an army of like-minded people, starting with their own children, who will reject a whole host of changes wrought by liberal democracy,” according to a fascinating recent story in Politico.

For the right wing, pro-natalism means looking for every possible means to increase the white percentage of the nation’s population. Through this lens, it’s not hard to see why Republicans remain virulently anti-immigration and strictly opposed to abortion.

Those two issues may appear unrelated, but in fact Republican positions on both stem at least in part from white demographic fears. Republicans want to halt the rise in the nonwhite population by curbing immigration. At the same time, they hope their abortion bans will boost domestic birth rates — staving off white demographic decline. They also want to ban contraceptives and no-fault divorce, forcing women to stay in marriages and have more children.

The Republican Party’s white nationalism is often justified in religious terms, since much of this agenda designed to enhance white power stems from the party’s Christian fundamentalist base. Along with Protestant evangelicals, the Republican religious base now includes fundamentalist Catholics, who stridently oppose abortion.

  • @[email protected]
    6•1 year ago

    He stoked the flames of racism because Obama won the election and built up a nice little cult out of that. Dude got clowned by Obama at a white house correspondence dinner and it hurt is feewings

  • @[email protected]
    5•1 year ago

    If they want to stop non-whites from becoming the majority, then why oppose abortion and birth control? All the non-white people already here will have more kids too. Do they not understand that?

    • @[email protected]
      1•1 year ago

      Yeah, I think this article has an important message that needs repeating, but I don’t buy this angle from it. Empowering men to control women has always been a simpler argument. Cultural reinforcement of “traditional” family and gender roles stem back to that, too.

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      4•1 year ago

      I think this every time it comes up. But maga logic never really works, there’s no point in looking for consistency.

    • kamenLady.
      4•1 year ago

      Iirc long ties are supposed to make the wearer look slimmer, elongated, slinky or swift.

      But the red makes it stick out too much, turning the intended positive effect into void.

  • Tiefling IRL
    37•1 year ago

    The Republican Party’s white nationalism is often justified in religious terms, since much of this agenda designed to enhance white power stems from the party’s Christian fundamentalist base.

    Wait til they learn that Jesus wasn’t white

    • @[email protected]English
      16•1 year ago

      And nothing says “love thy neighbor” like racial supremacism.

      Their white supremacist, conservative, hateful, supply-side Jesus is weird. I’m an atheist but I much prefer the hippie, anti-materialist, socialist, anti-establishment Jesus I was grew up hearing about.

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      5•1 year ago

      Heh. 😀

      They think an election was stolen and that climate change and covid are hoaxes, so I’m doubtful they are capable of believing that no matter what evidence was provided.

      When someone believes those things, it’s probably not even the work of their conscious mind to just dismiss it out of hand when someone tells them Jesus wasn’t white.

  • nifty
    18•1 year ago

    Racism is a reason because the working class, or useful idiots from other classes, are abused and exploited by robber barons who need a scapegoat and distraction.

    Most republican policies have been and continue to be hostile towards the working class. So what’s a convenient way to distract from that? Oh hey, that other poor fuck exactly like you is the reason I am stealing from you.

    There’s no war but class war.

    • @[email protected]English
      13•1 year ago

      It’s always “Immigrants stole your job” and never “The CEO hired an immigrant instead of you”.

      • nifty
        8•1 year ago

        More like, the ceo doesn’t pay a living wage to immigrants or non immigrants alike. Immigrants are not necessarily cheaper, fyi. American workers need to unionize, it’s ridiculous that there aren’t more unions.

      • @[email protected]
        2•1 year ago

        and the politician gave them a special visa for it that the employer can boot them out with for any reason, so they can treat them worse and pay them less

  • mad_asshatter
    32•1 year ago

    Trump’s helicopter story is a different black dude:

    “Willie is the short Black guy living in San Francisco,” Holden said. “I’m a tall Black guy living in Los Angeles.

    “I guess we all look alike,” Holden told POLITICO, letting out a loud laugh.

    • worldwidewave
      37•1 year ago

      Trump’s absolutely losing it, and we’re seeing his flailing and failing brain on display more everyday.

      My theory on why he thinks Kamala “was Indian” and “turned Black one day” is that he’s fully confused Nikki Haley and Kamala Harris in his brain, and has conflated the two into one person.

      • @[email protected]
        7•1 year ago

        And that’s even scarier because we’ll get rabid pro-life Vance who’s going to wage a literal war on women and childless.

    • IninewCrowEnglish
      18•1 year ago

      Everyone including the media paint a picture that’s it’s just Trump … it’s just his followers … it’s just a political party …

      None of what they are doing or saying would be possible without the full support and financing of very wealthy and rich elites… and none of it would be possible without the support and sometimes encouragement, acceptance and justification of a very pliable media, who are all owned by the same wealthy and rich elites.

  • @[email protected]
    51•1 year ago

    We cannot allow them to take the term “pro-natalist” because it allows them to paint anybody who disagrees as “anti.“ Just like they can claim anybody who isn’t “pro life” is “anti-life.“ People need to stop giving them these PR wins.

    “We’re for family values” = I am against families

    “We’re for law and order” = I am against it

    It forces us non-weirdos to introduce the nuance of what their terms actually mean which is a losing prospect.

    • @[email protected]
      4•1 year ago

      Interesting thought. Do you have suggestions on how to counter nationalists seizing the label “pro-natalist”?

      • @[email protected]
        3•1 year ago

        You can use an alternative term like “anti-choice” while reporting on them. You can also insist on defining the term whenever you use it. “Pro- natalists, who believe that unwilling women should be forced to give birth”, something like that.