Sarah Darer Littman

Because Trump’s Republican Party mainstreams White nationalism

As writers, we’re acutely aware that language matters: that words can be used to uplift or put down; unify or to divide; galvanize or discourage; clarify or obfuscate. 

In Politics and the English Language, George Orwell warned that “political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.” By using euphemisms, politicians can refer to policies that conflict with the ostensible aims of their party and cause cognitive dissonance with their voters’ self-perception as good people 

Doing so creates a more palatable framing of unconscionable acts and ideas, like saying “enhanced interrogation techniques” instead of “torture,” or attempting to rebrand neo-Nazi ideology as the “alt-right.”

Former white supremacist Tony McAleer wrote about this tactic in a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed: 

“To normalize extremist ideas, [we’d] take a position previously considered radical and make it palatable enough for the public to get behind. If we could repackage a concept that only 1 percent of people supported in a way that 5 percent would accept, we could expand our outer edge of extremism while simultaneously moving where the center lies…”

Trump’s 2024 campaign shows us how successful white nationalists have been at moving the Republican Party toward the extremist fringe, such that the 2016 dog whistles have now become Klaxons heralding Project 2025’s Christian nationalist vision for America. 

It was no accident Trump kicked off his campaign in Waco, Texas, to coincide with the anniversary of the FBI raid on the Branch Davidian cult, an event that continues to inspire far-right violent extremists. 

McAleer writes: “Language of intolerance and dehumanization in the center ultimately enables radical extremism at the outer edges.”

Take it from a former extremist and vote Harris-Walz.  

Sarah Darer Littman is an award-winning author of books for young people.