While much of Donald Trump’s support stems from widespread anger about the country’s economic divide, there is another element fueling the GOP nominee’s success, says long-time political columnist EJ Dionne: racism.
“People out there who are angry did not make up their reasons for being angry. There is a legitimacy to their protests. But we will also have to look back and say what part of the Trump movement was not primarily about this economic protest, but really was … people who are uneasy with the changes in the country, with the changes in the culture? And then in the case of a piece of it, you know, outright racism,” Dionne told David Axelrod on “The Axe Files” podcast, produced by the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN.
“What was birtherism if not something that played at racial feeling in the country?” Dionne added.
During the hour-long conversation with Axelrod, Dionne, author of the new book “Why the Right Went Wrong,” said that Hillary Clinton must use people’s fears of a Trump presidency to drive turnout on Election Day.
“The question is will she get enough turnout from the old Obama coalition, particularly from African-Americans who turned out in record numbers for President Obama, to some degree from Latinos, and then also from (Bernie Sanders supporters) and young people? I think Trump’s radicalism or extremism, the sense of threat people feel from the possibility of a Trump presidency, can inspire a lot of turnout,” Dionne told Axelrod.
“We forget that sometimes fear inspires at least as much turnout as hope. I think Trump sort of strikes fear in the hearts of a lot of not only traditional Democrats but middle of the road Republicans.”
To hear the full interview with Dionne, which also touched on his start in journalism and the Catholic Church under Pope Francis, click on http://podcast.cnn.com. To get “The Axe Files” podcast every week, subscribe at http://itunes.com/theaxefiles.
