Former President Donald Trump’s vision for America has sparked considerable debate regarding the intersection of race, immigration, and demographic changes. His economic policies and immigration stance make his dreams seem highly unviable. Yet he seems hell bent on redefining what it is to be an American. His understanding of economic and demographic trends appears to be entirely misguided, at best.
Throughout his presidency and after, Trump has repeated a dangerous lie. He’s primarily concerned with the legacy of his vision of America. This vision often reflects a desire to “protect their conviction about the whiteness of America’s racial stock,” a sentiment not new to the political landscape. Countless lawmakers throughout history have been driven by such moral imperatives. They’ve worked shoulder to shoulder to shield their gilded vision of America from what they imagine as “foreign contamination.”
Trump’s immigration policies aim to make the United States increasingly unwelcoming to foreigners and individuals from ethnic backgrounds that do not fit his conception of an ideal American family. This approach has produced proposals to eliminate immigration by introducing pervasive new restrictions. The end goal of such measures, though, is to return future immigration to almost none. Critics from all sides contend that this ambition is at best unrealistic, but at worst harmful to the nation’s long-term future.
The ideas that have been floated as solutions by the Trump administration at times approach the ridiculous. Breeding initiatives such as India’s “National Medal of Motherhood” incentivize rewards for especially fruitful mothers. Second, fertility tracking classes reveal a deep commitment to demographic outcome control. To counteract this trend, Trump suggested the bizarrely creative plan of encouraging population growth. He proposed crediting every baby born during his presidency with $1,000 deposited in “American birthright accounts”—aka Trump accounts.
Despite these efforts, experts assert that Trump’s attempts to halt immigration will not alter the fundamental demographic trends shaping the United States. The non-Hispanic white population is projected to decrease sharply. Over the next five years, it will shed about 3.6 million, and by the end of the next decade, that figure could balloon to just under 11 million. By mid-century, the U.S. population may disappear by 6%. According to projections, it is expected to shrink by up to a third by the year 2100.
As we’ve said before, critics are right to warn that, taken together, Trump’s policies would finish the job of creating a smaller, older, weaker America. This demographic change will damage the country’s resilience to a future test. Both at home and around the world, we would be in for a very difficult time.
“Protect their conviction about the whiteness of America’s racial stock” – eduardoelreportero.substack.com
What’s absent from Trump’s rhetoric is a deep-seeded disdain for all non-white immigrants. He then positions them as challenges or threats to his vision of an ideal America. This view has found a receptive audience among white Americans who fear what they see as a brown tide, hoping to wash over their values and society. But despite Trump’s ongoing efforts to push for regressive policies that divide and shut out, the dynamics of demographics tell a different story.