The Forbidden C-word, Class in America | FO Podcasts

Why is the word class almost never spoken in American politics, despite shaping elections, identity, and power? In this episode of FO Podcasts, Fair Observer’s Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh, examines the hidden class system in the United States with former Washington Post journalist Kent Jenkins. Drawing from his journey from a blue-collar upbringing to elite Washington institutions, Jenkins explains how class operates through education, accents, culture, and unspoken social rules. The conversation explores why American politics avoids class language, how elite institutions dominate political discourse, and why working-class voters across racial lines have drifted away from the Democratic Party. The episode also unpacks Donald Trump’s appeal, elite condescension, identity politics, and the widening divide between metropolitan professionals and rural or industrial America. With comparisons to Europe and the United Kingdom, this discussion shows why class, not race alone, has become a defining fault line in US democracy. 00:00 Class in America 04:30 Atul’s Family in India 06:30 Kent’s Family in America 10:00 Class Politics in the US 15:00 What Trump Did Right 21:00 Class in Europe vs America 35:00 The Impact of Class on Community 40:00 Democrats and Zohran Mamdani 45:00 Race and Class in America 55:00 Republicans vs Democrats