The parallels between David Duke and President Trump, as demagogues, are breathtaking. Duke shadowboxed with his past to suggest he wasn’t a hardened bigot; many white voters in the district like him for “standing up” to blacks—an issue that had little bearing on the needs of that suburban district. Trump has found a way to depict Mexicans and immigrants as rapists and criminals; urban cities as dark, crime-ridden places; black athletes as unpatriotic; refugees as welfare and government-assistance mongers. Trump’s Make American Great Again slogan is the dog whistle of all times. The meaning is deeply hidden in the world to the unassuming eye and ear but comes on like a freight train to those who are attuned to its meaning. It seems so benign, but the word again gave the line its punch. Again fills African Americans with dread. Exactly when were we great before? What are we going back to? And by the way, your great wasn’t so great for me.
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