| | | | This is Donald Trump's America |  | | Buried deep within a Pew Research Center poll on race and ethnicity in America released Wednesday is this paragraph:
"Most Americans (70%) say they would not be particularly bothered if they heard people speak a language other than English in a public place, including 47% who say they would not be bothered at all. Still, a sizable share (29%) says this would bother them at least some."
So, three in 10 Americans say that hearing people speak a language other than English in public bothers them. That includes 11% who said it bothers them "a lot" and 18% who admitted that it bothers them "some."
Which seems high!
Dig into the numbers and things get even grimmer. Among white Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, fully 47% say it would bother them, a lot (20%) or some (27%), to hear a language other than English spoken in public. Just one in four (26%) of that group said hearing a foreign language in public wouldn't bother them at all. (By contrast, 58% of white Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters said hearing a language other than English wouldn't bother them at all.)
Numbers like those go a long way in explaining how someone like Donald Trump -- a political gadfly with nor real set ideology -- marched to the Republican presidential nomination, won the White House and has overseen a total overhaul of the GOP since becoming President.
Trump's candidacy was premised on the fear of the other. People who didn't think like you and, yes, look like you, were taking over this country. And they were taking it from you. (The "you" tended to be whites -- and men in particular.) The whole notion of "Make America Great Again" was that a) it wasn't great now and b) at a time in the past -- before PC culture took over -- it was great.
Remember this, from Trump's announcement speech? "The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems," Trump said. "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
Or this from Trump's inaugural address? "The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer."
That rhetoric has continued since Trump came to the White House. In discussing immigration's impact on Europe in 2018, Trump said this: "I just think it is changing the culture, I think it is a very negative thing for Europe. I know it is politically not necessarily correct to say that, but I will say it and I will say it loud."
It's too facile -- I think -- to label every single Trump voter a racist. (Some, quite clearly, were.) But what's clear is that Trump's candidacy -- and presidency -- tapped into an alienation and an anger born of that alienation among a bloc of white conservatives that "their" country was being taken from them. And that they couldn't even speak up in protest for fear of being shouted down by the PC police.
These numbers from Pew reflect that things haven't really changed much since November 2016 on that front.
The Point: As Trump prepares to run for a second term, he will lean harder and harder into this disgruntlement and alienation among white Republicans. And, if Pew is to be believed, his message will find fertile soil.
-- Chris | | "For those of you drinking a beer this morning, no judgment, just do so responsibly, and tip generously."
-- Beto O'Rourke, while campaigning in a brewery in Iowa this morning. | | | EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE FACT CHECK | | President Donald Trump cited executive privilege over the full, unredacted Mueller report this morning, and CNN Fact Checker Holmes Lybrand has a Point-exclusive look at what exactly that privilege means.
In perusing your pocket Constitution, you won't find mention of executive privilege; instead, it pulls its vim from the separations of power between the three branches of our government.
While this doctrine has been cited by presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama and Trump over a whole host of issues to keep certain communications and documents private, the Supreme Court has never ruled on the legality of an executive privilege used to block a subpoena from Congress. So the rules around this are all a bit confused.
Instead, federal courts have established their jurisdiction over resolving these conflicts between Congress and the executive branch.
For a federal court to take on this subpoena vs. executive privilege conflict, Congress and the Trump administration need to demonstrate that they "have tried in good faith but failed to reach an accommodation," according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. To attack the executive privilege, Congress will need to demonstrate "an adequate showing of need" for the subpoenaed documents, the report says.
If a battle over executive privilege is in the cards, House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler has a tough and long road ahead -- and by the time a court ruling actually comes down, a new Congress will have likely taken over. Which shows all of this for what it really is: pure politics, plain and simple.
Have something else you want fact checked in The Point? Drop us a line! Lauren.Dezenski@cnn.com. | | | Darlingside's "Best of the Best of Times" is a very good tune. The video for it is even better. | |  | | Today's topic: Contempt of Congress? It's probably not as bad as it sounds. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Elizabeth Warren: Will give a 2018 a campaign donation from a member of the Sackler family to charity. The Sackler family controls Purdue Pharma, which makes the drug OxyContin. Warren released a plan this morning on how to combat the opioid epidemic.
Donald Trump: Holds a campaign rally tonight in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Amy Klobuchar: Participates in a town hall on Fox News from Milwaukee tonight -- the second 2020 Democrat to do a similar town hall with the network.
Bernie Sanders: Has rolled out a plan to prevent sexual harassment on his campaign.
Kamala Harris: Is introducing legislation to protect public defenders.
Joe Biden: Has a fundraiser in California that a health care union is planning to protest. | | | | | | |
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