The Great White Hoax: Donald Trump & the Politics of Race & Class in America

Director Earp and antiracist educator Tim Wise place the 2016 election of Donald Trump into the historical context of race relations in America. They argue that since before the American Revolution, elites used racial tension to divide white and nonwhite poor who shared mutual class interests. Over the years, subtle appeals to economic, social, and cultural concerns replaced overtly racist language and actions. New Deal welfare programs that largely benefited whites during the 1930s were vilified in the 1960s and 1970s when they assisted nonwhites. Appeals for law and order coming after the civil rights and antiwar protests of the 1960s justified brutal police behavior. Republicans and Democrats alike are seen as complicit. Clips from President Trump's speeches in which he blames African Americans, Latinos, and Muslims for the supposed problems in contemporary American society serve as the primary focus of the film, with Wise providing thoughtful commentary.