How 'cruel' MAGA ideology degrades working-class whites: conservative

Despite the fact that he is facing four criminal indictments, former President Donald Trump is showing no signs of losing ground in the 2024 GOP presidential primary. A Survey USA poll released on October 5 finds Trump with a 56 percent lead over the primary's second-place candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Working class whites continue to be a prominent part of Trump's base, much to the chagrin of Never Trump conservative David French.

In an biting opinion column published by the New York Times on October 5, French argues that Trump and the MAGA ideology have degraded white working-class culture but laments that Trump's bond with his voters remains strong.

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"In the tug of war between the angels and devils on our shoulders," French argues, "too many times the devils prevail. In this toxic moment, much of the American white working class is indulging its worst aspects, enabled and encouraged by a man and a movement that caricatures working-class values, draining them of light until the darkness threatens to overwhelm us all…. Directness can become cruelty."

French adds, "Respect for tradition can yield to implacable hostility to necessary change. Protection can become aggression, dedication to common sense can devolve into prideful ignorance, and healthy loyalty can morph into destructive defiance."

The Never Trumper laments that MAGA ideology isn't losing its grip on Republican voters.

"Republican elites, from Capitol Hill to Fox News to the local lawyer driving his $250,000 MasterCraft in a Trump boat parade, are delivering the worst kind of red meat to their working-class base," French laments. "And sadly, that base isn't rejecting the posers and demagogues. It's looking at a collection of the fakest men and women in American politics and shouting, 'More!'"

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Read David French's full New York Times column at this link (subscription required).