Heads up parents, this episode contains strong language, so if you're listening with small kids, you may want to save this one for later.

This is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanta. In all of the drama of current politics in the United States, there is one truth that is endured through the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency.

There's only one person, and that's the dog. Finally, we get someone that's not a politician.

He is not afraid to say what we're holding.

He is a scrukey Washington, that's all he is.

He has kept the support of the core group of voters who propel them into the White House.

The approval of these voters, often white and often working class, has meant the Republican Party as a whole, has stayed loyal to Trump.

Few Republicans running for high office can expect to win without the Trump base.

As Trump himself once famously said,

I could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters, okay? It's like an incredible.

This week on Hidden Brain, we explore two competing perspectives on Trump supporters and their motivations.

One paints a sympathetic picture, focusing on class divisions and economic pain.

This is a group that feels belittled and ignored, and you know what? Some level they're right.

The other is more critical.

Race, as we all know, is such a fundamental cleavage in our society.

I think Republicans are using it to their advantage.

Joan Williams studies gender, class, and work in the United States.

She's currently professor of law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

She's also the author of the book, White Working Class, Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.

Joan, welcome to Hidden Brain.

Delighted to be here.

We've heard a lot about the White Working Class since the 2016 election.

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