Everyone knows that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sells himself as a brilliant and successful businessman. He thinks of himself as a financial genius. He promises to completely recharge the American economy and to bring millions of jobs back to the U.S.
He pointedly ignores his multiple bankruptcies and lawsuits.
For at least a year, journalists and political pundits have been trying to figure out who in the world would actually be voting for this guy. They have looked at the usual demographic indicators of age, race, education level, and financial status. The general consensus has been that Trump voters are mostly white, lower income, and poorly educated.
Most political analysts have reported that it is financial self-interest that has motivated Trump’s supporters. They think that they’ll have better jobs, better job security, and a generally more prosperous life if Trump is president. Trump has promised to cancel international trade agreements, to end the deficit, and to “make America great again.” Most pundits think that these promises are attracting voters to Trump.
Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winning economist, disagrees.
The Huffington Post is reporting that Krugman does not believe economic anxiety is a good predictor of who will support Trump. He says that a closer look at who is behind the candidate shows that it is actually underlying racism that leads voters to support the Republican candidate.
Krugman says that Trump appeals to lower income, uneducated white voters not because of his supposed business sense, but because he has given voice to those hidden beliefs.
People at the lower end of the economic spectrum want to find scapegoats to blame for their lack of success. He says:
“The idea that this is what it’s about, that his China bashing and his trade stuff is really behind the movement [is false]. I think what’s really happening is all these subterranean impulses driving the Republican vote for decades are just coming to the surface.”
Trump has allowed voters to point a finger of blame at those supposed “criminal Mexican rapists,” at the supposed “Muslim terrorists” who are pouring over the border, at the Black community in general, at Jews…
Proof of this unleashed hatred is found in David Duke‘s endorsement of Trump. It’s found in the group of Trump supporters who have attacked Jewish journalists on line. We see it in the attacks on Black protestors at his rallies.
Paul Krugman is a very smart man. He understands economics better than almost anyone else in this country.
Apparently he also understands racism and prejudice.
This video shows just how worried Paul Krugman is about Trump:
Featured image via YouTube screengrab.
