Trump has espoused racist beliefs for decades. As president, he weaponized them as U.S. policy.

American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump

An Intercepted audio documentary series offers a comprehensive analytical history of the Trump presidency. Featuring in-depth examination of Trump’s extreme agenda, the roots of U.S. history, and the policies of Trump’s predecessors, the series seeks to analyze the question: Is Trump the worst president in U.S. history?

ON THE CAMPAIGN and as president, Donald Trump has worked hard to resurrect the George Wallace strand of U.S. politics: He has consistently used racist and bigoted language to accompany his policy onslaughts.

In part three of our limited audio documentary series “American Mythology,” we examine the ways Trump has used racialized fearmongering and incitement in both word and deed, from his Muslim ban to his denigration of immigrants to his attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement. Trump has openly encouraged police to act extrajudicially, brutally, and with impunity, while simultaneously emboldening violent white nationalists and militias. He has even defended a young man accused of shooting and killing BLM protesters.

As he campaigns for reelection, Trump is hedging on many of his 2016 tactics but now is backed by the extraordinary power of the executive branch. The Justice Department, virtually privatized by Trump, appears to be coordinating its official functions with his reelection effort. Trump is intensifying his voter disenfranchisement operation, and he has threatened to remain in office regardless of the election results. We dig deep into Trump, race, and the wars at home.

American Mythology: The Presidency of Donald Trump is an Intercepted limited documentary series. You can follow us on Twitter @Intercepted and on Instagram @InterceptedPodcast. Intercepted is a production of First Look Media and The Intercept. Our lead producer is Jack D’Isidoro. Our producer is Laura Flynn. Elise Swain is our associate producer and graphic designer. Betsy Reed is editor in chief of The Intercept. Rick Kwan mixed the show. Transcription for this program is done by Lucie Kroening. Our music, as always, was composed by DJ Spooky.

First aired on The Intercept.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License