TO UNDERSTAND THE rise of Donald Trump, you don’t need to go to a diner in the Midwest or read “Hillbilly Elegy,” J.D. Vance’s memoir.

You just need to know these basic facts:

In 1980, white people accounted for about 80 percent of the U.S. population.

In 2024, white people account for about 58 percent of the U.S. population.

Trump appeals to white people gripped by demographic hysteria. Especially older white people who grew up when white people represented a much larger share of the population. They fear becoming a minority.

  • Novman
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    30 days ago

    I think that you overextimate the american exceptionalism. In the xx century the europe was destroyed in the ww leaving the usa as the only state not touched by the wars. The rest of the world was lagging techlogicaly. Now the situation is different. Usa is a young country and it is not different from any other.

    • draneceusrex@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      30 days ago

      11 aircraft carriers, the dollar being the fiat currency of the world, and our cultural dominance pretty much seals the hegemony win for the US since the '90s, but ok, sure dude. We’re no different than other countries…

      • Novman
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        29 days ago

        To be an empire doesn’t mean be different