White rural voters in America were characterized as racist, anti-democracy, and conspiracy theorists by the authors of “White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy.”
They were described as supporting QAnon, election denialism, and violence as a means of discourse.
“They are the most racist, xenophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-gay, geodemographic group in the country,” author Thomas Schaller said. “Second, they’re the most conspiracist group. QAnon support and subscribers, election denialism, COVID denialism instead of scientific skepticism, Obama birtherism.”
How many steps away from South Africa is this? https://t.co/PeYasXpGt1
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) March 1, 2024
“They don’t believe in an independent press, free speech,” he said.
The authors attributed their affinity for Trump to economic struggles and a sense of being neglected by the system.
“They’re most likely to say the president should be able to act unilaterally without any checks from Congress, or the courts or the bureaucracy. They’re also the most strongly White nationalist and White Christian nationalist,” Schaller said. “Fourth, they’re most likely to excuse or justify violence as an acceptable alternative to peaceful public discourse.”
Writer Paul Waldman said that these voters are more likely to support former President Trump because “they have more problematic education systems,” and have been impacted by jobs leaving their regions.
“We’ve seen a lot of manufacturing jobs leave from rural areas,” he said.
“That kind of left them open to someone like Donald Trump who would come along and tell them something that was true, that there is a system that has not served them well,” Waldman said.
“They’re pissed off,” MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski said.
“They have some reason to be [angry] with both parties,” Waldman said.
Trump was a “conduit for [White rural voters’] rage and anger,” he added.
“All that [Trump] gave them was essentially a way to essentially give a big middle finger to Democrats, to people who live in cities and to the rest of the country.”
Critics, however, questioned these claims as elitist and lacking understanding of the challenges faced by rural communities.
“How many steps away from South Africa is this?” political commentator Jenna Ellis wrote on X.
“Can you imagine thinking rural Appalachia is full of White rage and is threatening democracy?” one influencer wrote online. “We are too busy trying to keep our kids from taking opioids laced with fentanyl bought from an illegal who moved into a house that was owned by a poor family who couldn’t pay their taxes. Get over your elitist [expletive].”
