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Subject Why do Trump’s supporters deny the racism that seems so evident to Democrats?
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Original Message It’s now commonplace for President Trump’s critics to accuse him of blatant racism and even of being a white supremacist, as Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke recently did. But in his public persona, Trump is not performing as a Klan grand wizard. Instead, he speaks in thinly coded terms to his base. Relatively speaking, this is good news.

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How can Trump’s supporters deny the racism so evident to Democratic voters?

For one thing, Trump is practicing dog-whistle politics — using rhetoric that operates in code. Terms such as “shithole countries” or “go back” are silent about race, but they provoke sharp racial reactions.

Using code has the benefit of preserving plausible deniability. It allows Trump to stir up strong racial emotions while denying that he’s doing any such thing. When confronted with the racism of his “go back” comments aimed at four congresswomen of color, Trump responded, “Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!”

It’s also important to understand how the code works for the audience. As a former Republican governor of Virginia once explained: “The tactic was simple: Lace your speeches with coded appeals to racists in Southern states. ... The intended target of the message — the racist voter — understood completely, while leaving the politician ‘plausible deniability’ with non-racist voters.”

Is this what’s happening now? Not unless 90% of Trump supporters are not only racists but committed liars to boot.

More likely, these coded messages work by strongly resonating with voters who do not see themselves as racist but are jolted to action by warnings of racial threat. The success of this sort of dog-whistle politics depends on hiding the racist nature of the messages from the intended audience itself. Rather than seeking to speak to self-conscious racists, the coded words aim to reassure those riled up by racial appeals that they are not bigots.

The point is to peddle group resentment. Its uglier forms — explicit white supremacy — would have little appeal to the broader audience. Instead, the dog-whistling politician uses words that appear to promote ideas of security, pride or patriotism. For these voters, the cloaked language is more comfortable; it hides the racial character of what the politician is actually selling.

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