Trump's nationalist declaration 'like pouring gasoline on a fire' ahead of midterms

'For his political base, this is not alienating them. It’s a language that they find attractive and reassuring'

On Tuesday Donald Trump declared himself to be what many have long accused him of being – a nationalist.

In a move unprecedented in US politics, the Republican leader branded himself a nationalist president at a rally in Texas, and told his supporters they should “use that word”.

During the rally for Texas Republican candidate Ted Cruz, Mr Trump said to the crowd: “You know what a globalist is right? A globalist is a person that wants the globe to do well, frankly, not caring about our country so much.

“We can’t have that. They have a word, it sort of became old fashioned - it’s called a ‘nationalist’.

“Really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay? I’m a nationalist. Use that word.”

The president did not say why he is “not supposed to use that word”, but the self-issued label puts Mr Trump in questionable company, with notable 20^th century nationalist leaders including Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, Muamar Gaddafi and Adolf Hitler.

Writing in 1945, George Orwell described nationalism as “power-hunger tempered by self-deception,” and said it involved “assuming that human beings can be classified like insects and that whole blocks of millions or tens of millions of people can be confidently labelled ‘good’ or ‘bad’.”

Today in the US the term is closely associated with the racist ideology of white nationalists.

But it is this term Trump is using to appeal to his supporters with two weeks to go until the US midterm elections which threaten Republican majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Peter Trubowitz, professor of international relations at the LSE, told The Independent: “We haven’t had a recent president who described themselves as a ‘nationalist’, in part because in the American context it raises issues of race and that’s one of the reasons Trump has been criticised for invoking it.

“In the current context it has a kind of double meaning, so as we say in the US, it is a bit of a dog whistle.”

But he said it was “part and parcel” of Donald Trump’s election campaigning efforts.

“He is really trying to focus the Republican base’s attention on the border, on immigration, on issues of identity, and national identity,” Professor Trubowitz said.

“He’s doing it in different ways and some of it is the use of using the term ‘nationalism’. This election is boiling down to ‘what are you most scared of? People coming across the border, or healthcare cover for pre-existing conditions.’ Given millions of Americans have pre-existing conditions, a lot of people are worried about that.

“But I think it will stoke his base. It’s generating a reaction from people who read this as a invoking a kind of racist trope. For his political base, this is not alienating them. It’s a language that they find attractive and reassuring.

“But it’s deeply polarising. This is like pouring gasoline on a fire.”

He added: “The divisions and polarisation in America didn’t begin with Donald Trump, but it’s been taken to a new level by the president and they’ve also been given a more overt racial dimension than before.”

Professor of politics at the University of Kent, Matthew Goodwin, said disentangling the president’s rhetoric from the genuine concerns of voters presents a considerable task for Trump’s Democrat opponents, and warned leaning further to the left meant exposing the political centre further.

He said: “The risk for people who are trying to counter Trump is they may assume that all forms of nationalism are inherently evil and that you cannot be progressive and still have strong national attachments.

“If they are arguing that we have to have a borderless world and that we’re all citizens of nowhere, then the Donald Trumps of this world will win election after election, because that’s not how average voters think.”

“I’ve seen little from the Democrats to suggest they’ve got a new story, not only for minorities, but also for white Americans. How are you going to win back the 53 per cent of white women who voted for Trump? And the one in three Latino voters who voted for Trump? And how are you going to win back the Cuban Americans in states like Florida who went for Trump? These are socially conservative voters. If you say you’re going to be hyper-liberal and draw attention to everything that’s wrong with Trump, then I’d say they’re already priced in.

“They know that Trump’s an arsehole, they know that, but then where do you go? Where is a new national story that can appeal to [these groups] and Conservative voters who could be tempted into an anti-Trump fold?”

Despite Mr Trump’s open declaration of nationalism, Professor Goodwin said it didn’t indicate America is on the same course as 1930s Germany.

“There’re still fairly robust checks and balances against Trump. This is a guy who wasn’t even able to pass healthcare reform. I’m sceptical of the idea we’re witnessing the birth of the fourth Reich.”

But he added: “With any form of nationalism you do need to watch for any legitimisation of any form of xenophobia, and be careful when people are throwing around stereotypes about minorities, and Trump has done that on a number of occasions.”