How Fake Intellectualism Makes Trump’s Xenophobic Beliefs Seem Sane (VIDEO)

When Donald Trump put his hat in the ring way back in June of 2015, people laughed.

When he took to the campaign trail for the primaries, people chuckled and shook their heads.

As Trump moved along the campaign trail, spewing his hateful language and insinuating that only white skinned Christians are worth our time and care, millions of people around the world brushed him off as a boorish egomaniac.

We never thought he’d win. But he did.

Trump, a brash populist with barely hidden racist beliefs, seemed the least likely person to rise to power in the U.S. His election left many of us asking “How the hell did this happen?”

In an effort to explain how he managed to appeal to so many people, Newsweek has published an article that looks at the people who make up Trump’s inner circle. It sheds some light on the ways that our preconceptions led us to this day.

The stereotypical xenophobe is an uneducated, illiterate bumpkin. The cliché of the hillbilly conservative is certainly popular with the left. Uninformed, self-focused, lacking in the finer points of critical thinking, he is an easy target for progressive humor.

But Donald Trump’s inner circle, while made up of xenophobes, hardly fits this model.

Steve Bannon is the perfect example.

The former Breitbart publisher is widely known as a well read, highly educated thinker. He was a star student at Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA, with honors.

Steve Bannon is not your typical, knuckle dragging troglodyte. He is one very, very smart man.

But what does his intellectual past hide about his inner beliefs?

We know that Bannon reads voraciously, and that he often finds inspirational quotes in his reading. And that it makes it worthwhile for us to look at a list of Bannon’s favorite books.

Steve Bannon is obsessed, say his close associates, with war. He is obsessed with the idea that an influx of immigrants from non-European countries will push us into World War III.

Steve Bannon apparently can’t wait for that war. He believes that war between Islam and “the West” is inevitable.

Bannon has taken a lot of his inspiration from the 1973 book, “The Camp of Saints.” It features hordes of dark skinned immigrants coming to take over Europe and causing the end of Western Civilization.

He also quotes “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu. This book glorifies war more than almost any other. One of its quotes reads:

 

“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”

Newsweek explains that the modern xenophobic racist hides behind a thin veneer of Ivy League education and wealth. This veneer allows like minded people in the electorate to identify with them.

The idea is that in the old days anyone who spouted anti-immigrant or anti-Semitic or anti-black rhetoric was likely to feel like a toothless hillbilly.

Today, thanks to the likes of Steve Bannon, anyone who talks like a xenophobic bigot is more likely to feel smart.

This might help to explain the sharp rise in hate crimes since the election of Donald Trump. It might help to explain why it suddenly seems acceptable to express hatred for anyone wearing a hijab or speaking Spanish or wearing their brown skin in public.

This kind of pseudo intellectualism is incredibly dangerous. Being smart does not equate to being moral.

We all need to remember that as the Trump administration moves forward with its hate filled agenda.

This video will show you just how crazy Bannon sounds.

Featured image via YouTube screengrab.

Karen is a retired elementary school teacher with many years of progressive activism behind her. She is the proud mother of three young adults who were all arrested with Occupy Wall Street. To see what she writes about in her spare time, check out her blog at "Empty Nest, Full Life"