Combating racism is crucial to revitalizing American politics: It’s not easy, but it can be done

Social science suggests that racial resentment is central to Donald Trump's appeal. There are ways to fight back

Days after the 2016 election, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote that “we simply don’t yet know how much racism or misogyny motivated Trump voters.” That’s not entirely true. Trump’s election provides an important case study in exploring how racism and misogyny galvanized support for an authoritarian populist — and how progressives can fight back against these attacks. Trump’s model of white exclusionary populism and explicit racism will become a more viable electoral strategy as whites begin to see themselves as a group facing discrimination and as racial resentment further sorts the public along partisan lines. [...]