Once More, With Feeling

The Washington Post has a mini-Cleetus Safari today.  "Is the President racist?  Opinions differ."

Look, I get that you need to address and air the opinions of all sides.  I guess.  Perhaps it's helpful quoting David Duke endorsing Trump's "shithole" comment.  It is striking how the more overt racists applaud Trump lumping whole continents and peoples into a "shithole" while his more mainstream supporters say "He's just telling it like it is."

Of course, that last bit is an open question, isn't it.  The "telling it like it is" crowd notes that these countries are poor even though "we've given them so much money."  That reflects the common misconception/outright lie that America devotes much of its budget to foreign aid.  It's kind of like Bezos giving $33M for DREAMers scholarships.  It sure sounds like a lot of money, but for him, it's barely a rounding error in his bank account.

There is no doubt that Haiti and Hondurus are poor.  They are often subjected to violence that arise out of that poverty.  We have propped up odious dictators in both countries and the latter is racked by the violence that is associated with keeping America stocked full of illegal drugs. 

Clearly, what Trump was saying was racist.  He sees a poor, black country...shithole.  Not poor, not struggling...shithole. 

There is more at work here than just racism, which might be why some Republicans support him beyond the racist implications.  It's the idea that wealth is the equivalent of goodness.  For Trump, Haiti or Nigeria or the American territory of Puerto Rico are shitholes because not only are they the wrong color people, they don't have money.

Like he does.

Wealth - in Trump's world - is synonymous with virtue and intelligence and power.  The root of his narcissism is the fact that he's rich (and the fact that he is rich largely because he was born rich might account for the fragility of his ego).  In Trump's world, having money means you're just better.  It's a moral statement more than the bottom line on a balance sheet. 

One might be forgiven for thinking that if you could somehow convince his supporters that he sees them as trash because they are poor, that they would abandon him.

No.

The people who support Trump might be struggling to maintain their middle class lives in an economy that prefers wealth to work, but they have completely internalized the Randian/Republican idea that monetary wealth=human worth.  Even as they stare up at the mansion on the hill of the gated community, they aspire to get there, if only the government would stop giving their money to dark skinned people.  If only the government would "get their hands off my Medicare."

I guess we have to continue to reckon with those who support Trump no matter what. Honestly, at this point, he should shoot someone in the face on Fifth Avenue.  Especially if it's Stephen Miller.  My guess is that won't cause his numbers to move much lower than the 35% some polls have him at now.

Trump has exposed a rot in the heart of our country, but many left-leaning observers have been screaming about this for decades. 

Yes, racism still holds a powerful pull on our politics.
Yes, some people equate wealth with human worth.
Yes, some people yearn for an authoritarian figure to make them feel warm and safe from their fears.

But those people aren't a majority.  I just wish journalists who feel the need to interview Trump supporters - again - would remember that.