--- description: Barack Obama’s election — and its powerful symbolism of black advancement — was the major trigger for the backlash that led to Donald Trump title: Donald Trump Is the Result of White Rage, Not Economic Anxiety image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe06c8e860fef0f3/6988aebc8e0601b29946848f/hat.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [politics](/tag/politics/) ## politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Donald Trump Is the Result of White Rage, Not Economic Anxiety ## Video: Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8) (7:19)  _Published 2016-10-31. In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton._ by [Carol Anderson](/author/4573310/) ## Carol Anderson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2016 5:22 PM CUT  A "Make America Great Again" hat sits on a table ahead of an election-night party for the 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Hilton Midtown hotel in New York City on Nov. 8, 2016 A "Make America Great Again" hat sits on a table ahead of an election-night party for the 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Hilton Midtown hotel in New York City on Nov. 8, 2016Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Carol Anderson](/author/4573310/) ## Carol Anderson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 16, 2016 5:22 PM CUT White rage got us here. While the [economic anxiety](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/16/how-donald-trump-appeals-to-the-white-working-class "undefined") of Trump supporters is often touted as the [driving force](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/the-great-white-irony-of-clintons-stunning-loss "undefined") behind the mogul’s electoral college victory, that rationale is just a ruse, a clever red herring. The median income of a Trump supporter is more than [$70,000 per year](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-mythology-of-trumps-working-class-support/ "undefined"), which is well above the national average, and a 2016 study noted that it would take African Americans [228 years](http://billmoyers.com/story/average-black-family-need-228-years-build-wealth-white-family-today/ "undefined") to equal the wealth of whites in the U.S. Clearly, Trump’s pathway into the Oval Office is not really about white economic angst. Rather, Barack Obama’s election — and its powerful symbolism of black advancement — was the major trigger for the policy backlash that led to Donald Trump, and which has now put America’s national security at risk. Republicans carved out this trench shortly after Obama’s 2008 victory. The GOP pushed through a number of laws at the state level to block as many of his voters, primarily African Americans, from the polls as possible. North Carolina targeted black voters with nearly “[surgical precision](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/opinion/north-carolinas-voting-restrictions-struck-down-as-racist.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined").” Wisconsin Republicans were “[giddy](https://www.thenation.com/article/wisconsin-republicans-were-giddy-about-making-it-harder-to-vote/ "undefined")” about disfranchising African Americans, especially in Milwaukee. Florida’s GOP cut particular days of early voting to nullify the political participation of [black churchgoers](https://thinkprogress.org/florida-republicans-admit-voter-suppression-was-the-goal-of-new-election-laws-f2954f7635d0#.muourngr4 "undefined"). Texas [required](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/03/how-voter-id-laws-are-being-used-to-disenfranchise-minorities-and-the-poor/254572/ "undefined") certain types of government-issued photo IDs to vote and then [ensured](http://www.naacpldf.org/publication/democracy-diminished-state-and-local-threats-voting-post-shelby-county-alabama-v-holder "undefined") that nearly 1.6 million black and Latino citizens would have [very limited access](http://billmoyers.com/2013/08/22/doj-to-texas-voter-suppression-will-not-stand/ "undefined"). Ohio [skewed](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-pepper/ohio-democrats-expose-new%5Fb%5F9643250.html. "undefined") its early [voting laws](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/us/ohios-limits-on-early-voting-are-discriminatory-judge-says.html "undefined") to [diminish](http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/06/federal%5Fjudge%5Ffinds%5Fohio%5Flaws.html "undefined") the [turnout](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/25/us/ohios-limits-on-early-voting-are-discriminatory-judge-says.html "undefined") in the cities while also implementing a literacy test that officials applied only to those in urban counties. The end result was that the Republicans had effectively [shattered](https://www.thenation.com/article/ohio-gop-admits-early-voting-cutbacks-are-racially-motivated/ "undefined") the black and Latino demographic firewall that could have prevented a Trump presidency. A Trump presidency, to be clear, that many in the Republican establishment rightfully feared because of the mogul’s demonstrated unfitness for office. But they [didn’t fear it enough](http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-anderson-demographic-firewall-20160717-snap-story.html "undefined"). Because even in the wake of federal court orders striking down many of the most odious, discriminatory features of voter suppression, the GOP [resisted](https://www.thenation.com/article/north-carolina-wont-stop-suppressing-the-vote/ "undefined"), [stalled](http://www.reuters.com/article/schwartz-voters-idUSL1N1D42AX "undefined") and [defied](http://www.npr.org/2016/04/11/473850580/despite-federal-court-rulings-texas-voter-id-laws-remain-in-place "undefined") the judiciary until [confusion](https://www.thenation.com/article/a-federal-court-orders-wisconsin-to-stop-suppressing-the-vote/ "undefined") and [resignation](http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/08/12/conflicting-rulings-could-cause-confusion/88614524/ "undefined") reigned at the [polls](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-09-23/changes-in-voting-laws-could-lead-to-confusion-at-the-polls "undefined"). It was [too late](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/battleground-states-still-fighting-over-voting-laws-potential-election-day-confusion/2016/10/25/32560c4e-979d-11e6-bb29-bf2701dbe0a3%5Fstory.html "undefined"). In a horrific Faustian [calculation](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-voting-states-to-watch-20161107-story.html "undefined"), these Republican patriots put the nation at risk so that Trump could fulfill his dominant campaign promise. And, to be clear, it was not to make America great again, but to make access to America’s resources “[whites only](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/clinton-wasnt-wrong-about-the-deplorables-among-trumps-supporters/2016/09/12/93720264-7932-11e6-beac-57a4a412e93a%5Fstory.html "undefined")” again. The [Klan](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/01/the-kkks-official-newspaper-has-endorsed-donald-trump-for-president/ "undefined") recognized it, as did the [white nationalists](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/305912-kkk-american-nazi-party-praise-trumps-hiring-of-bannon "undefined") who gave Trump their full-throttled support. But, this wasn’t just a fantasy of the far right. The [allure](http://www.salon.com/2016/07/06/the%5Fdisturbing%5Fdata%5Fon%5Frepublicans%5Fand%5Fracism%5Ftrump%5Fbackers%5Fare%5Fthe%5Fmost%5Fbigoted%5Fwithin%5Fthe%5Fgop/ "undefined") of a revived [Jim Crow nation](http://time.com/4236640/donald-trump-racist-supporters/ "undefined") that proudly, willfully [excludes](http://time.com/4569034/donald-trump-undocumented-immigrant-deportation/ "undefined") and [debases](http://www.voanews.com/a/hate-crimes-surge-after-donald-trump-victory/3596298.html "undefined") millions of nonwhites was so reaffirming and reassuring that everything else became [secondary or tertiary](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/08/us/politics/election-exit-polls.html "undefined"). Everything else, including [national security](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/donald-trumps-war-with-the-us-military/2016/09/09/a6701dae-7678-11e6-8149-b8d05321db62%5Fstory.html "undefined"). Despite his glaring lack of qualifications, patriots shoved Trump into the role of [Commander in Chief](http://time.com/4370608/donald-trump-military/ "undefined") — a man who had already maligned the U.S. military as a “disaster,” denigrated the generals dismantling ISIS, and disparaged POWs for being stupid enough to get caught. Patriots [cheered](http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/07/27/fox-panel-defends-trump-s-call-russia-hack-clinton-s-emails-he-just-meant-please-return-them-us/211943 "undefined") on as Trump [asked](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-clinton-emails.html "undefined") the Russian government to [hack](http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/trump-has-a-point-on-russia-hack/ "undefined") an American citizen who had led a national-security agency. Patriots acquiesced to a foreign policy that encouraged [nuclear proliferation](http://time.com/4437089/donald-trump-nuclear-weapons-nukes/ "undefined"), oozed profound [ignorance](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/trumps-terrifying-nuke-answer-at-the-debate-should-end-his-campaign-but-it-wont-20151216 "undefined") about the basic fundamentals of U.S. [nuclear capability](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-04/john-mccain-hedges-on-donald-trump-having-nuclear-weapons "undefined"), and kept in play use of the ultimate weapon by a man who has difficulty even maintaining control on Twitter. Patriots gleefully [ignored](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/russian-intelligence-hacked-dnc-emails-says-top-u-s-official-n618936 "undefined") warnings by the National Security Agency that the [hacked documents](http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/25/politics/democratic-convention-dnc-emails-russia/ "undefined") released by [WikiLeaks](https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/07/dnc-hack-wikileaks-russia/492878/ "undefined") were actually the result of and washed through [Russian intelligence](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/trump-russia-hackers-republicans-229572 "undefined"). Patriots didn’t blink when Trump’s economic plan included the possibility of [defaulting](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/us/politics/donald-trumps-idea-to-cut-national-debt-get-creditors-to-accept-less.html "undefined") on the U.S. debt although that “could undermine the stability of global financial markets” on a scale not seen since the Great Recession and cost American taxpayers billions of dollars in higher interest rates. Patriots accepted Trump’s [admiration](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-putin.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") of Vladimir Putin, disdain for the President of the United States, and a foreign policy agenda that [matched](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/rnc-2016-donald-trump-foreign-policy-225991 "undefined") up smoothly with the Russian — not American — government’s. In other words, in January 2017, a man will be at the helm of the U.S. military, intelligence and foreign policy bureaucracies, who actually encouraged foreign intervention in an American election and advocated for dismantling the alliances that will aid Russian expansionism and weaken U.S. influence and power. Yet, the [patriots](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3922030/Republicans-congratulate-President-elect-Donald-Trump.html#ixzz4Q7w6Ivuq "undefined") bet that the [trade-off](http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/9/after-decisive-victory-nevertrumpers-fall-line/ "undefined") will be well [worth it](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/11/will-all-the-republicans-who-once-lambasted-trump-now-fall-into/ "undefined"). Clearly, [white rage](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/making-america-white-again-the-white-lash-that-carries-trump/article32836823/ "undefined") has brought us [here](http://indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/make-america-white-again-billboard-sparks-outrage-in-us-2877395/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4573307/donald-trump-white-rage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4573307/donald-trump-white-rage/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Is the Result of White Rage, Not Economic Anxiety","datePublished":"2016-11-16T17:22:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:51:22.997Z","description":"Obama's election was a major trigger for the policy backlash that led to Donald Trump","url":"https://time.com/4573307/donald-trump-white-rage/","keywords":["politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe06c8e860fef0f3/6988aebc8e0601b29946848f/hat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Carol Anderson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/4573310/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe06c8e860fef0f3/6988aebc8e0601b29946848f/hat.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A \"Make America Great Again\" hat sits on a table ahead of an election night party for 2016 Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump at the Hilton Midtown hotel in New York on Nov. 8, 2016.","caption":"A \"Make America Great Again\" hat sits on a table ahead of an election night party for 2016 Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump at the Hilton Midtown hotel in New York on Nov. 8, 2016.","creditText":"Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4573307/donald-trump-white-rage/","name":"Donald Trump Is the Result of White Rage, Not Economic Anxiety"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Donald Trump Runs for President: A Look Back","description":"In one of the most shocking U.S. elections in modern political history, Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/dgn8DCbB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-10-31T20:49:27.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dgn8DCbB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4573307/donald-trump-white-rage/","duration":"PT7M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4573307/donald-trump-white-rage/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```