There's a kind of optimism specifically within Christianity about the world - about whose side God is on. Well, I didn't have any of that in my background. I had physicality and chaos.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesRead
It is often said that Trump has no real ideology, which is not true - his ideology is white supremacy, in all its truculent and sanctimonious power.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote asserts that Trump's ideology is fundamentally rooted in white supremacy, despite claims to the contrary.
In this quote, Ta-Nehisi Coates argues against the assertion that Donald Trump lacks a coherent ideology, suggesting instead that his beliefs and actions are consistently aligned with white supremacy. Coates emphasizes the pervasive influence of this ideology, characterizing it as both aggressive and self-righteous, thereby pointing out the dangers that come with such a worldview in positions of power.
Themes
IdeologyWhite SupremacyPowerPoliticsTrump
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on contemporary politics, one might quote Coates to illustrate the ideological roots of certain leaders.
More from Ta-Nehisi Coates
All quotes βWe've got in the habit of not really understanding how freedom was in the 19th century, the idea of government of the people in the 19th century. America commits itself to that in theory.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesRead
I never expected my writing to become as popular as it did.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesRead
It's hard for me to view Baltimore outside the context of what Baltimore has always been in my mind: a violent place.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesRead
If I could have anything - you know, and this is across the board for any presidential candidate - I would have a greater acknowledgment of history in our policy and in our affairs.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesRead
You can't make a direct comparison between middle-class African Americans and middle-class white Americans, affluent African Americans and affluent white Americans. The amount of wealth tends to be less.
Ta-Nehisi CoatesRead
Similar quotes
Virginia States' rights, as our forefathers conceived it, was a protection of the right of the individual citizen. Those who preach most frequently about states' rights today are not those seeking the protection of the individual citizen, but his exploitation. The time is long past β if indeed it ever existed β when we should permit the noble concept of states' rights to be betrayed.
Robert KennedyRead
I have been struck by the pervasive frequency of pompously patriotic ads for the defense industry, usually accompanied by deferential salutations to our men and women who are heroically sacrificing their lives in our defense. Do we really need all of that for our security?
Zbigniew BrzezinskiRead
The organized workers of America, free in their industrial life, conscious partners in production, secure in their homes and enjoying a decent standard of living, will prove the finest bulwark against the intrusion of alien doctrines of government.
John L. LewisRead
Our politics are our deepest form of expression: they mirror our past experiences and reflect our dreams and aspirations for the future.
Paul WellstoneRead
We may be assured by past experience, that such a practice [as some states charging high taxes on goods from other states] would be introduced by future contrivances; and both by that and a common knowledge of human affairs, that it would nourish unceasing animosities, and not improbably terminate in serious interruptions of the public tranquility.
James MadisonRead
A Christian cannot fail of being a republican.
Benjamin RushRead