How the GOP keeps stoking racial fears

The right's view of racial issues in America ignores facts about who really commits crimes and get away with them.

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

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The United States has a long history when it comes to politicians exploiting economic and racial anxiety for electoral gain. Iowa Rep. Steve King’s recent racist comments about immigrants drew criticism, even from his own party, but inflammatory rhetoric on race and immigration is hardly a new facet of the Republican party. On Sunday’s Up with Steve Kornacki, the panel discussed how nativism threatens any attempts to broaden the GOP base and, more broadly, how attitudes of party and media figures ignore modern realities.

“You can scare people at the bottom and make them afraid of other people at the bottom,” said Jane Hall of American University, referring to President Obama’s Saturday interview with the New York Times. Hall joined MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry, The Daily Beast’s Jamelle Bouie, Josh Barro and Up host Steve Kornacki Sunday to discuss how the Right deals with race.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

“We only ever talk about the pathologies of the privileged,” Harris-Perry said. It’s easy to know what Bill O’Reilly is thinking of when he talks about black-on-black crime, but, as Harris-Perry pointed out, no one thinks twice about treating the underage drinking habits of Ivy League students like a youthful indiscretion rather than a crime.

Watch the whole discussion about politics, race, identity, and privilege and watch Up with Steve Kornacki ever Saturday and Sunday at 8 AM ET.