Yeah, there’s a right wing apparatus already established for this sort of thing. I don’t think Trump is some type of genius or mastermind. Christianity to a certain point grooms people for right wing authoritarianism. Technology aids bad actors too, folks like Tucker, Bannon, etc reach millions and Facebook algorithms make sure that millions more (only) see this content. No one can discount Fox News and its ability to turn millions upon millions of fellow citizens into drooling hate filled rage addicts. It’s a propaganda machine not seen in any other industrialized democracy. Only comparisons can be found in poor and/or authoritarian regimes. Trump didn’t build Fox News but he sure as hell has been able to exploit it (and they him).
What I’m saying is that Trump gave these bad actors and bad theories the thin veneer of political acceptance. Replacement theory suddenly becomes “funny” when you’re so ridiculous about it, saying “******** countries” and telling blacks reps to go back to Africa. Trump is a perfect carrier for authoritarianism because he’s so ridiculous. He can’t really mean what he says because he’s an entertainer. He allows your own immigration to fill the void. “He didn’t literally mean that…”
Steve King was stripped of his leadership roles because of his racism. Because of Trump, you’ll never see any Republican stripped of their leadership because of their racism. If anything, the more blatant the racism the more popular they’d become. Not only that, but Trump gave people permission to act their worst selves and continues to intimidate those within the party who attempt to make a correction. Trump had a major hand in this. He gave evangelicals the power they’d been craving for decades but didn’t have under Reagan, Bush, even Bush II.
View: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bulwark-podcast/id1447684472?i=1000561942163
This is a great episode and I’d love to get your thoughts on it. If you don’t have time to listen, here’s his article:
The movement spent 40 years at war with secular America. Now it’s at war with itself.
www.theatlantic.com