Summary: The Rise Of White Nationalism

Annie Ascunce

Social Justice

Professor Watkins

December 18, 2017

The Rise of White Nationalism in Trump’s America Otherness: a concept that scares most. With the rise of Donald Trump came a resurgence of white nationalism in America. It is not clear which came first and what was the main cause. White nationalists or Donald Trump. However, a culture war social media very clearly allowed Donald Trump to become the face

Identity Politics and the Culture War The 2016 election can largely be explained by the increasing use of identity politics to mobilize white, male voters. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines identity politics as an “aim to secure the political freedom of a specific constituency marginalized within its larger context.

Instead of waiting for an official White House statement, Trump was able to go to twitter to announce his plans very readily. The ease of social media put the power back into the candidate’s hands. There was no longer a waiting period, Donald Trump was able to announce whatever he wished based on any given whim. This was extremely dangerous as it took away all forms of accountability. No staffer was able to advise against a statement as it had already been tweeted without a second look. Trump was constantly able to reaffirm his agenda by sending out dozens of tweets a day reiterating a

Trump’s policies themselves were favorable towards white nationalism. NBC outlines Trump’s major policies to see the focus on preventing illegal immigration, tax reform, lessening regulations, and the like. Most if not all of these policies promote a sense of otherness. For instance, Trump advocated for the building of his wall by referring to illegal immigrants as “criminals.” In Trumps’ words, the wall was absolutely necessary to stop the “crime and killing machine” that is illegal immigration. Such phrases subliminally invoke identity politics as it creates a fear of something ‘other’ harming us. The way the agenda was set created an us vs. them with the us being primarily white America.

Not only did social media give Trump agenda setting power, it fostered an individual relationship between him and his supporters. The frequency of his tweets and news coverage allowed Donald Trump to become an integral part of our daily lives. This relationship led to Trump becoming almost a deity to his supporters who felt affirmed by his every word. Alex Altman notes that Trump “emerged as a hero to white nationalists.” Numerous leaders of white supremacy organization have come out in support of Donald Trump’s statements such as the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, David