This episode of The Dig is brought to you by our listeners who support us at patreon.com

and by Verso Books, which has loads of great left-wing titles, perfect for dig listeners like you.

One that you might like is All-American Nativism, how the bipartisan war on immigrants explains

politics as we know it, which is, funnily enough, by me, Daniel Denver.

It is often said that with the election of Donald Trump, nativism was raised from the dead.

After all, here was a president who organized his campaign around

a rhetoric of unvarnished racism and xenophobia. Among his first acts on taking office was to block

foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. But although his actions may often

seem unprecedented, they are not as unusual as many people believe. This story doesn't begin

with Trump. For decades, Republicans and Democrats alike have employed xenophobic ideas and

policies, declaring time and again that, quote,

illegal immigration is a threat to the nation's security, well-being, and future.

The profound forces of all-American nativism have, in fact, been pushing politics so far to the

right over the last 40 years that, for many people,

Trump began to look reasonable. As Daniel Denver, me, argues, issues as diverse as austerity

economics, free trade, mass incarceration, the drug war, the contours of the post-9-11 security state,

and yes, Donald Trump and the alt-right movement, are united by the ideology of nativism,

which binds together assorted anxieties and concerns into a ruthless political project.

All-American nativism, how the bipartisan war on immigrants, explains politics

as we know it. By me, Daniel Denver. Out now from Verso Books.

Welcome to The Dig, a podcast from Jacobin Magazine.

My name is Daniel Denver, and I'm broadcasting from Providence, Rhode Island.

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