1. Trump's racism is often siloed off from the rest of his worldview -- treated either as a personal quirk or political opportunism. But I'd argue the racism is intimately intertwined with his strong man politics.
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4. But Trump's patrimonialism (his desire to be mob boss) takes on a more sinister bent when refracted through race. In the racist imagination, POC are only good if they are subservient, loyal vassals who accept their subordinate place in the racial hierarchy.
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5. Trump's feudal fantasies of being the boss everyone bends the knee to thus forms a meld with the wider racist ideology (itself rooted in the patrimonial system of chattel slavery) that wants to keep POC (and especially Black people) "in their place."
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6. I have some more thoughts on how Trump's racism is linked with his fundamentally feudal politics in this column: https://www.thenation.com/article/trump-racism-asap-rocky-kanye/ …
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Also of all the products he's ever sold....racism is the only one he's ever been able to sell to a big audience and satisfy almost every desired customer.
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Most people who didn't live it don't realize, but the Soviet Union basically functioned on a system of "blat" basically, connections that were useful to you. You can't get a good cut of meat at the official store, but if you know someone at the butchery, that's your blat.
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To watch this system reformed, in the US, at the highest form of government is....blowing my mind. Yet Kanye had his blat in the White House and was able to call in a favor. Freaking wild.
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Sultanism. Governance without any moral or ideological premise. Just reward the obedient and punish the disobedient.
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Of course Rump needs loyalty - when so many of your activities are illegal, it’s the only thing that matters. Competence? Experience? Honesty? All those things would get in the way of the grift.
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