At a campaign rally in Houston yesterday (shortly after having the testicles of Sen. Ted Cruz presented to him on a gold lanyard), President Donald Trump spilled the worst-kept secret in the woe-begotten history of his mis-Administration.
“You know what a globalist is? A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much,” Trump said. “And you know what, we can’t have that.”
The crowd began booing as Trump moved on to his preferred descriptor.
“You know, they have a word. It sort of became old-fashioned. It’s called a nationalist,” he continued. “And I say, ‘Really, we’re not supposed to use that word?’ You know what I am? I’m a nationalist. … Use that word.”
The crowd broke out into chants of “USA” in response.
The reader is forgiven if the first response to that is, “So? He’s the American President. He’s supposed to be a nationalist. It’s patriotic to be a nationalist.”
Were that it was actually that simple. It’s not. There is something of a gulf between the words “nationalist” and “patriot.”
We turn to Merriam-Webster for guidance:
…we define patriotism as “love for or devotion to one’s country” and nationalism in part as “loyalty and devotion to a nation.” But the definition of nationalism also includes “exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.” This exclusionary aspect is not shared by patriotism.
One can be a patriot without being a nationalist. Vice versa.
If you believe that America is anointed by God to lead all other nations on Earth due to a special love the Almighty has for his “chosen nation” — but you shrink from any service to that nation, military or otherwise? You are an unpatriotic nationalist.
Back to the dictionary website:
When we examine large bodies of recent text we see that patriotism is more often used in a general sense, often in conjunction with such words as bravery, valor, duty, and devotion. Nationalism, however, tends to find itself modified by specific movements, most frequently of a political bent.
OK. So what does “nationalism” mean in the current context?
In U.S. usage nationalism is now perhaps most frequently associated with white nationalism, and has considerably negative connotations.
With this as our guide, perhaps we can see Trump’s proclamation in its best possible light — he doesn’t really know what message he’s sending by using that word.
When measured against other news of the hour… Trump’s hatred for a free press (even as body parts of a murdered Washington Post journalist are being plucked from the garden of the Saudi Consul General in Turkey), the mongering of race/class hatred and fear in the form of the approach of a caravan of brown-skinned people attempting to seek asylum in America, lies and empty promises like the ridiculous notion that he can will a 10% “middle income” tax cut into existence without congressional action, and an increasing willingness to lie through his pearly whites knowing that his cultish base of supporters will accept anything he says just because he says it?
Trump preaches this philosophy to a base of supporters who shriek at the thought of NFL athletes peacefully taking a knee during the national anthem as an insult to freedom that disrespects the brave men and women who died in service to America, disregarding that the defending the very right to peacefully protest is chief among the reasons most patriotic — non nationalist — Americans and foreign nationals who love America put their lives on the line in the first place. Nationalists love the symbols — the flag, the anthem, the pledge. Patriots love the concepts — the freedom of speech, thought, press and worship.
In this light, we can safely assume Trump’s self-identification as a “nationalist” was received just as intended.