The Politics of Losing: Trump, the Klan, and the Mainstreaming of Resentment

321 Pages·2019·8.38 MB·English

by  Rory McVeigh

THE POLITICS
OF LOSING

THE POLITICS
OF LOSING
Trump, the Klan, and the
Mainstreaming of Resentment
RORY MCVEIGH AND
KEVIN ESTEP
Columbia University Press New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup .columbia . edu
Copyright © 2019 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: McVeigh, Rory, author. | Estep, Kevin, author.
Title: The politics of losing : Trump, the Klan, and the mainstreaming
of resentment / Rory McVeigh and Kevin Estep.
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, [2019] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018048997 (print) | LCCN 2018056015 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780231548700 (e-b ook) | ISBN 9780231190060 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: White nationalism— United States— History. | White
supremacy movements—U nited States—H istory. | Ku Klux Klan (1915- )—
History. | Whites—R ace identity—U nited States—H istory. | United States—
Race relations—P olitical aspects. | Trump, Donald, 1946– |
United States— Politics and government— 2017-
Classification: LCC E184.A1 (ebook) | LCC E184.A1 M356 2019 (print) |
DDC 320.56/909—d c23
LC record available at https: //lccn .loc .gov / 2018048997
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid- free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design: Noah Arlow
Ignorant, superstitious, and filthy Mexicans are scattering far
and wide throughout the country, taking the place of American
laborers. They are reported as far north as the sugar beet fields
of Michigan, where they are ousting white families, and thou-
sands are settling in the southwest. Our immigration laws are
still far too lax. Something should be done, and speedily, to curb
this evil.
— Imperial Night- Hawk, the newspaper of the Ku Klux Klan,
May 30, 1923

CONTENTS
1 Introduction 1
2 The Ku Klux Klan in American History 19
3 Power and Political Alignments 55
4 Economics and White Nationalism 67
5 Where Trump Found His Base 97
6 Politics and White Nationalism 125
7 Status and White Nationalism 143
8 White Nationalism Versus the Press 173
9 The Future of White Nationalism and American Politics 201
Conclusion: Making America White Again 221
Appendix: Methods of Statistical Analysis 229
Acknowledgments 243
Notes 245
Index 297

THE POLITICS
OF LOSING