Donald Trump has finally run afoul of the white establishment
Donald Trump’s base has always consisted of white racists who want someone to champion their cause, white losers who want to be told whom to blame for their failures, and white suckers who want someone to magically make them rich. Trump’s base has largely not consisted of what you might call the white establishment: the wealthy and powerful traditionally conservative Republicans who have spent the past year wishing Jeb Bush was the president. These folks have generally tried to stay away from the Trump phenomenon one way or the other. But that may have finally changed today
Trump’s earlier defense of the white supremacists in Charlottesville was a wake up call for the white establishment. It forced these folks, which couldn’t care less about race or equality, and only care about preserving their own money and power, to begin trying to distance themselves from him. Major CEOs resigned from his advisory councils. His handful of advisers who plan to have a mainstream future after this mess, such as Gary Cohn, have felt compelled to openly criticize him.
But in the view of the white establishment, Charlottesville was still merely a one-off incident. These folks have been nervously waiting for another shoe to drop, fearing that they might have to actually speak up and get involved in order to avoid getting dragged down with him. Sure enough, today we finally saw it beginning to happen. Trump attacked Colin Kaepernick, calling him a “son of a bitch” and insisting that he never be allowed to play again. That forced NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, a soulless shill for the league’s billionaire owners, to put out a statement condemning Trump. Goodell is the poster boy of the white establishment.
Trump wasn’t done digging a hole for himself, however, as he then attacked Steph Curry. NBA owners all wish Curry was on their team, not only because he’s a superstar, but because he’s a controversy-free team leader. He brings his baby daughter with him to press conferences. He’s that guy. If Trump were looking to arbitrarily pick a fight with a black public figure to impress his own racist base, singling out Curry was a phenomenally stupid decision. Curry didn’t even have to say a word in response today; the league’s other major stars are taking care of that for him.
If you’re the white establishment, you’re now realizing your worst fear: Donald Trump’s racist Charlottesville response was not a one-off incident. It’s already happening again. He’s picking fights with black public figures simply because they’re black. Trump is making himself so toxic to the American mainstream that the white establishment now has to come out publicly against him just to protect its precious money and power. When even a ghoul like Roger Goodell has been forced to publicly condemn Trump for his racist antics, there’s no turning back.
