Racism, nativism and xenophobia existed long before Donald Trump came to power, of course, but his election — driven in part by white backlash to the nation’s first Black president — has helped mainstream white nationalism and energize hate groups such as the Proud Boys.
Fear of an increasingly diverse nation, and the “end of white Christian America,” as the public opinion researcher and writer Robert P. Jones put it in his 2016 book of that same name, created a cultural climate ripe for resurgent extremism, QAnon conspiracy theories, an increase in hate crimes and right-wing populism in politics fueled by anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Earlier this week, a Christian nationalist, Doug Mastriano, won the GOP primary for Pennsylvania governor. As a state senator, Mastriano railed against coronavirus lockdowns by citing the Bible, and he denied that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. “I’m really praying that God will pour His Spirit upon Washington, D.C., like we’ve never seen before,” he said at the Trump rally before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Last month, Mastriano raised campaign money at a far-right Christian conference called “Patriots Arise for God and Country” that featured speakers promoting a range of QAnon conspiracies, including the lie that Democratic Party leaders are involved with a secret child-sex trafficking ring.
The toxic mix of Christian nationalism, racist tropes, conspiracy theories, and disinformation are not relegated to the fringy corners of the Internet. Tucker Carlson of Fox News, who hosts one of the most watched cable shows in the country, promotes the white supremacist poison that white Americans are being “replaced” by dark-skinned immigrants. Those lies, fear and racism are served up as a TV dinner to millions of Americans every night.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/buffalo-shooting-should-be-wake-call-white-catholics