# If Trump explicitly declared himself a White Nationalist, what would happen to his support? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932 "2018-11-03T16:05:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/21 "2018-11-04T04:22:34Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > I’m not entirely convinced that Trump understands what a ‘nationalist’ is. > > CMC fnord! That’s the beauty of being a nationalist - no IQ test required. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/22 "2018-11-04T04:36:21Z")
Trumps form of nationalism is ethno-nationalism, as “nation” is defined in terms of WASP ethnicity. The scary thing is that people still won’t call him out on his obvious dog whistles and still ignore the fact that he is just too “PC” to be publicly racist. [ul] [li]“Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.”[/li][li]“I think sometimes a black may think they don’t have an advantage or this and that. I’ve said on one occasion, even about myself, if I were starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really believe they do have an actual advantage.”[/li][li]Hatians “all have AIDS” [/li][li]Nigerians would never “go back to their huts”[/li][li]Claimed Obama “issued a statement for Kwanzaa but failed to issue one for Christmas.”[/li][li]Called Puerto Rico people “politically motivated ingrates.”[/li][li]Neo-Nazis are “very fine people.”[/li][li]hired Steve Bannon [/li][li]Pardoned and praises Joe Arpaio, a known racist[/li][li]Called a hispanic Miss Universe “Miss Housekeeping.”[/li][/ul] Most of the laws he has been pushing for, and lots of the constitutional violations he is perpetrating directly relate to people based on race and religion. The question is why are a large portion of his base who aren’t white nationalists getting suckered in or alternatively, why don’t they care. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/23 "2018-11-04T05:29:47Z")
I think it would drop substantially for as long as a week. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/24 "2018-11-04T14:51:20Z")
It would drop, but not WS much as you would think. And all Trump would have to do is say that it was “fake news” and his support would go back up, with only a few who will stay away. And, yes, Czarcasm is likely right that people would say they were outraged but secretly vote for him anyways. I know too many people who voted for Trump while saying he is awful, to the point that I believe this is the Evangelical position. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/25 "2018-11-04T14:55:18Z")
Trump posted [this ad](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/midterms-2018/trump-racist-commercial-new-ad-willie-horton-midterm-election-luis-bracamontes-caravan-a8612676.html) earlier today. Take it in. This is the most blatantly white nationalist ad I have ever seen in modern politics. It tries to tar thousands of refugees with the brush of a single murderer, because they’re all “not from around here”. Trump posted this because he thought it was a good ad, that his supporters would be behind him. Do you really think coming right out and saying, “I’m a white nationalist” would lead to much of a dip in his support if this video wouldn’t? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/26 "2018-11-04T15:28:28Z")
There would be a brief simulation of a hue-and-cry. Meanwhile in the real world, the percentage of Trump’s supporters who actually are white nationalists would party like it’s 1933, and the remainder—who, at best, are ambivalent toward or completely ignorant of the cause—would either shrug it off entirely or snicker at the “triggered libs.” Sarah Chuckroast Sanders would slouch at her lectern and chide the media for trying to score cheap political points, and Kellyanne Conway would emerge from her dessicant canister to say we should focus not on what the president says but what he does: a long list of unprecedented triumphs and successes that Trump has somehow accomplished single-handedly while criss-crossing the country campaigning for himself and tweeting subliterate verbal puke from the sanctuary of his gold toilet. And then, on day _two…_ ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/27 "2018-11-04T15:32:49Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Trump posted [this ad](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/midterms-2018/trump-racist-commercial-new-ad-willie-horton-midterm-election-luis-bracamontes-caravan-a8612676.html) earlier today. > > Take it in. This is the most blatantly white nationalist ad I have ever seen in modern politics. It tries to tar thousands of refugees with the brush of a single murderer, because they’re all “not from around here”. I seriously doubt that an ad showing a white Canadian illegal immigrant who committed murder would have the same kind of appeal to the GOP base. This guy was picked because he was dark skinned, and thus especially scary to white conservative voters. Just like the Willie Horton ad from 1988. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/28 "2018-11-04T18:32:16Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > I seriously doubt that an ad showing a white Canadian illegal immigrant who committed murder would have the same kind of appeal to the GOP base. This guy was picked because he was dark skinned, and thus especially scary to white conservative voters. Just like the Willie Horton ad from 1988. Funny thing is, the message then was “who would the Democrats let out [of prison]” instead of “let in [the country]”, but the fearmongering is the same. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/29 "2018-11-04T18:34:46Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Trumps form of nationalism is ethno-nationalism, as “nation” is defined in terms of WASP ethnicity. > > The scary thing is that people still won’t call him out on his obvious dog whistles and still ignore the fact that he is just too “PC” to be publicly racist. > > [ul] > [li]“Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.”[/li][li]“I think sometimes a black may think they don’t have an advantage or this and that. I’ve said on one occasion, even about myself, if I were starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really believe they do have an actual advantage.”[/li][li]Hatians “all have AIDS” [/li][li]Nigerians would never “go back to their huts”[/li][li]Claimed Obama “issued a statement for Kwanzaa but failed to issue one for Christmas.”[/li][li]Called Puerto Rico people “politically motivated ingrates.”[/li][li]Neo-Nazis are “very fine people.”[/li][li]hired Steve Bannon [/li][li]Pardoned and praises Joe Arpaio, a known racist[/li][li]Called a hispanic Miss Universe “Miss Housekeeping.”[/li][/ul] > > Most of the laws he has been pushing for, and lots of the constitutional violations he is perpetrating directly relate to people based on race and religion. > > The question is why are a large portion of his base who aren’t white nationalists getting suckered in or alternatively, why don’t they care. Saving this post for when people ask about why I think Trump is a racist. Feel free to add more, including the specific laws. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/30 "2018-11-04T18:37:48Z")
I think many would be charmed by his honesty. Maybe pick up a few racist Dem voters. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/31 "2018-11-04T18:52:42Z")
Honestly, I think he would lose a lot of support at least publicly. Yes, there is a lot of white identity politics even among his mainstream supporters, and it should be obvious to everyone that he is in fact a racist SOB, but it is important to many of his supporters to maintain a fig leaf of deniability. Otherwise they wouldn’t object to being called racists. Now of course come 2020, with the Democrats nominating someone that Fox News has objectively determined is the most liberal candidate ever nominated (amazing how that seems to be the case every election), inside the anonymity of the voting booth most of them will find a way to rationalize their support for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/32 "2018-11-04T18:53:50Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Funny thing is, the message then was “who would the Democrats let out [of prison]” instead of “let in [the country]”, but the fearmongering is the same. The message really ought to be “Who would give this man an AR-15?” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/33 "2018-11-04T19:48:59Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I think it would drop substantially for as long as a week. Why should we expect even THAT to happen? > [@rat\_avatar](#): > > Trumps form of nationalism is ethno-nationalism, as “nation” is defined in terms of WASP ethnicity. > > The scary thing is that people still won’t call him out on his obvious dog whistles and still ignore the fact that he is just too “PC” to be publicly racist. > > [ul] > [li]“Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.”[/li][li]“I think sometimes a black may think they don’t have an advantage or this and that. I’ve said on one occasion, even about myself, if I were starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really believe they do have an actual advantage.”[/li][li]Hatians “all have AIDS” [/li][li]Nigerians would never “go back to their huts”[/li][li]Claimed Obama “issued a statement for Kwanzaa but failed to issue one for Christmas.”[/li][li]Called Puerto Rico people “politically motivated ingrates.”[/li][li]Neo-Nazis are “very fine people.”[/li][li]hired Steve Bannon [/li][li]Pardoned and praises Joe Arpaio, a known racist[/li][li]Called a hispanic Miss Universe “Miss Housekeeping.”[/li][/ul] > > Most of the laws he has been pushing for, and lots of the constitutional violations he is perpetrating directly relate to people based on race and religion. > > The question is why are a large portion of his base who aren’t white nationalists getting suckered in or alternatively, why don’t they care. That’s only a question if one believes that “White” is the only (or even the Biggest) problem with being a White Nationalist (it’s not). Being a Nationalist at all is the big problem. [An important distinction.](https://smbc-comics.com/comic/an-important-distinction) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/34 "2018-11-04T19:58:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > [An important distinction.](https://smbc-comics.com/comic/an-important-distinction) Also gonna reuse this. Keep the good stuff coming, y’all! (That said, I would say that white nationalism is worse than nationalism, even though they are both bad. It just adds racism on top and intersects into something worse.) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/35 "2018-11-04T22:21:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > (That said, I would say that white nationalism is worse than nationalism, even though they are both bad. It just adds racism on top and intersects into something worse.) Sure, nationalism + racism is worse than nationalism without racism. But nationalism without racism is worse than racism without nationalism. ANYBODY can turn out to be a nationalist; even people who are fooling themselves into thinking that they’re just “patriots.” In fact, I’d speculate that anybody who awards the label of “patriot” to themselves is probably just a nationalist. And anybody who claims the label of “nationalist” for himself ought to be sequestered from society for the safety of EVERYONE… ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/36 "2018-11-05T00:25:34Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Sure, nationalism + racism is worse than nationalism without racism. But nationalism without racism is worse than racism without nationalism. ANYBODY can turn out to be a nationalist; even people who are fooling themselves into thinking that they’re just “patriots.” While White Nationalism is toxic, some forms of Nationalism are benign. I think [Civic Nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_nationalism) is fine: > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Civic nationalism, also known as liberal nationalism, is a form of nationalism identified by political philosophers who believe in an inclusive form of nationalism that adheres with traditional liberal values of freedom, tolerance, equality, and individual rights.[1][2] > > Civic nationalists often defend the value of national identity by saying that individuals need a national identity in order to lead meaningful, autonomous lives[3] and that democratic polities need national identity in order to function properly.[4] ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932/37 "2018-11-05T00:47:29Z")
Let it not be said that I am unable to take correction. Thank you for pointing out the error in my generalization. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-explicitly-declared-himself-a-white-nationalist-what-would-happen-to-his-support/823932.md?page=1)