Actually, Donald Trump Is the One Playing Identity Politics

A question. Which party played identity politics in the 2024 campaign? Donald Trump and the Republicans or Kamala Harris and the Democrats? Left-leaning pundits think they know.

Political consultant James Carville blamed Democrats’ defeat on their “stupid, Goddamn identitarian mission.” CNN anchor and Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria argued that one of the big mistakes Harris made was “elevating identity politics.” New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd declared that “woke is broke.” 

This one-sided attack on identity politics happens like clockwork when Democrats lose an election, even one where they were actually pretty quiet on issues of gender, race or sexual orientation. But what is rarely acknowledged is that Republicans also play identity politics. They just do it better — especially under Trump’s leadership. 

“Today, white identity deeply influences American politics,” writes political scientist Ashley Jardina in her 2019 book White Identity Politics. “White identity is sometimes latent, but it is also reactive — made salient by threats to the dominance of whites as a group.”

Trump, who rose to political fame on the identity politics birther lie, is the master of this strategy. Trump’s brand of identity politics — centered on White and male identity — has proven a very effective way to run and win a campaign. The Republican party is 84% White, yet for years, mainstream national Republicans mostly rejected playing the race card overtly — Senator Bob Dole famously told racists to leave the GOP during his 1996 convention speech. And former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman apologized in 2005 for his party’s history of using racial polarization to gain an electoral advantage.

Trump, of course, has behaved quite differently. For example, in August, Trump shared an image of dark-skinned people simply walking with a caption that said: “If you’re a woman you can either vote for Trump or wait until one of these monsters goes after you or your daughter.” That’s Trump’s version of identity politics — and it worked.

There is a reason that Harris largely sidestepped her racial and gender identity, as Trump leaned in, frequently highlighting her identity markers. The intentional mispronunciation of her name was part of his strategy. 

So were comments like this: “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said in July to a room of Black journalists. 

On her gender, Trump, who talked about the appeal of the “strongman,” had this to say: “She’ll be so easy for them. She’ll be like a play toy. They look at her and they say we can’t believe we got so lucky. They’re gonna walk all over her,” he said in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in July. “I don’t want to say as to why, but a lot of people understand it.”

Trump, obviously, didn’t have to say it. He was right that people understood where he was coming from. His identity made him the better choice to sit across from world leaders. 

Since Trump’s rise to political prominence, the electorate, particularly White voters, has shifted their views to either match or oppose Trump’s views — White conservatives have become more extreme on issues like immigration and civil rights and White liberals have become more progressive.

The sentiments that motivated voters in this campaign and how different groups voted won’t fully be known for months , but if 2024 is anything like 2016, it’s likely that whiteness and maleness as identities were motivating factor for some voters. Yes, Trump made inroads among a multiracial coalition of men, and he did this by appealing to very traditional notions of masculinity — cue Hulk Hogan ripping off his shirt at the Republican National Convention. Even Trump’s emphasis on transgender issues, while ostensibly about women’s sports, is at its core also about fragile gender roles and the idea that certain groups now enjoy an elevated status.

Democrats, with their multi-racial and diverse coalition, don’t have a good answer for Trump’s style of identity politics. They must attract more White voters to win, but are rightfully wary of wading into White grievance politics, which are at the center of Trump’s version of populism.

As Democrats point fingers and devise a way forward, they should take some solace in this: Parties and culture evolve and new leaders emerge as others recede. Trump’s culture war rhetoric might make voters feel better, but it has yet to make their actual lives better. This will be the big test of his second term in office. Democrats, now firmly in the opposition, have an opportunity to develop a broader but still inclusive message, while hoping that Republicans who come in Trump’s wake are less adept at his brand of identity politics.

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This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.

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