Trump’s popularity with his base isn’t the result of economic anxiety, as many claimed in 2016. It’s about race and demographics.

TO UNDERSTAND THE rise of Donald Trump, you don’t need to go to a diner in the Midwest or read “Hillbilly Elegy,” J.D. Vance’s memoir.

You just need to know these basic facts:

In 1980, white people accounted for about 80 percent of the U.S. population.

In 2024, white people account for about 58 percent of the U.S. population.

Trump appeals to white people gripped by demographic hysteria. Especially older white people who grew up when white people represented a much larger share of the population. They fear becoming a minority.

  • Sternout
    3·
    1 month ago

    This is the correct answer. Racism is systematic and it is to simple to blame the individuel.

    • jmp242@sopuli.xyz
      1·
      1 month ago

      Systems don’t vote in the US however (at least in the context of this article) - we’re talking about individuals voting.