The Muslim Ban and American History

Donald Trump's revised executive order to bar entry to the United States from six Muslim-majority countries is the latest salvo in America's epic culture wars over race and American identity. As a matter of national security and law, the policy makes no sense, as the US District Court for the District of Hawaii has made clear. Yet Trump figures that he wins politically even as he loses again in court. Trump's politics depend on making Muslims a target of hatred among working-class white voters, a strategy with a long and successful history in US politics. While this approach succeeded in putting Trump in the White House, I doubt that it will play well for long.