"Trump's racism as a strategy" with Ian Haney López

How we overcome the strategic racist demagoguery that lets billionaires divide and dominate us. Donald Trump epitomizes DOG WHISTLE POLITICS. That's the verdict of  Ian Haney López, author of the groundbreaking book of that title that exposes the electoral strategy that has driven the Republican Party's success in taking over the Supreme Court and engineering massive wealth inequality in the United States. But we rarely hear anyone talk anymore about how Trump deploys racism to engineer massive gains for his billionaire friends at home and abroad.  Part of that is that the left takes Trump's racism for granted, believing it's visible to anyone who cares to see it. Another part is Trump's mastery when it comes to silencing the press and critics about his divisive smears by using what Haney López calls "Racist Theater." And maybe the biggest reason is Democrats remain afraid to confront Trump's purposeful divisiveness directly. Haney López, who is also the author of MERGE LEFT, which presents proven tactics for using a race-class narrative to oppose strategic racism. In that book and this interview, he presents a better way to defeat the favorite trick of America's bloated, belligerent billionaires. Plus, he gets really pissed at JD Vance. Catch up on all the episodes of "How are you feeling about democracy?" here. If you want to be a supporter of this podcast, please join us here at the earlyworm society – free or paid, your support matters.