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Lots of Americans Would Sacrifice Democracy for Cheap Gas

From the GOP base to celebri-goons like Jake Paul, we are a nation that loves money more than the Constitution

Tim Wise
6 min readJun 21, 2022
Image: VGstockstudio, Shutterstock, standard license, purchased by author

There’s a reason why so many Americans love Donald Trump.

I mean, besides the part about how he taps into their racial anxieties and resentments or speaks to their desire for old-school rapey masculinity.

Namely, they love him because his ostentatious flaunting of the trappings of wealth — his branded plane, building, steaks, wine, everything — appeals to an American culture that is fundamentally enamored with the cheap and gaudy.

Trump’s gold-plated toilet and gold-leaf molding are not evidence of class but classlessness — tacky manifestations of financial narcissism meant to cover up personal insecurity.

Lower-income folks usually see this grotesquery for what it is, but decidedly middlebrow Americans — who are Trump’s real base, not the hardcore working-class — love this shit.

They eat it up.

Being rich, to them, is about vanity tags and Instagram posts showing off cars, watches, jewelry, or boats and telling everyone else to suck it for not having their own.

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Tim Wise
Tim Wise

Written by Tim Wise

Senior Fellow, African American Policy Forum, critical race theorist, and author of 9 books on racism and racial inequity in the U.S.

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