Mr Brexit goes to Mississippi

MR BREXIT GOES TO MISSISSIPPI Donald Trump’s performance at the rally in Jackson, Mississippi has left pundits in America scratching their heads, but had a deep resonance for one significant group of Americans—a resonance that would surprise the British. The republican nominee spoke about the British decision to withdraw from the EU—the so-called Brexit referendum—before handing over the podium for an exuberant speech by British businessman-turned-politician Nigel Farage, the man who orchestrated the movement to pull out of the European Union. But most of Trump’s audience neither knew anything about nor cared anything about either Brexit or Farage. So what was the point of all this? In fact, there was method in Trump’s madness. To understand what was going on you have to read between the lines. Mr. Trump began by rehashing some of his standard themes—American jobs taken overseas, Islamic terrorism, open borders, and so on. But then he served up some novel fare. “The issues we face here in America,” Mr. Trump intoned, “are similar to the issues faced in Britain during their referendum on membership in the European Union.” The Brits would assume this because Farage built his divisive campaign around anti-immigrant sentiment, with a campaign poster that was reported as possible hate speech due to its resemblance to Nazi propaganda. But Trump could not expect his audience to know about this. So what was he up to? Trump explained that “the people of Britain voted to declare their independence, which is what we’re looking to do also” “They voted to break away from large corporations and media executives who believe in a world without borders.” “Before the vote,” he continued, “I said that Britain would leave the EU.” And then, pointing his finger into the crowd as if to underline an especially significant point, he intoned, “sometimes referred to as European Union.” He was “very supportive of their right to do it and to take control of their own future.” “November is our chance to redeclare American independence” “It’s time for America to recapture our destiny!” "They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT," Trump later tweeted. On the surface, it’s puzzling why Trump would say such a thing and why he would devote so much attention to Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. But once we look below the surface we can understand what went on in Jackson. As someone who grew up in the Deep South, the powerful historical resonances of this speech ring loud and clear. Trump was appealing to Southerners’ sentimental attachment to the “lost cause” of the Confederacy, which still haunts the southern psyche. It’s not for nothing that the confederate emblem still adorns the Mississippi state flag and that Mississippi governor Phil Bryant declared April Confederate heritage month earlier this year. Here’s what was really going on in Jackson. What Trump literally said wasn’t what the crowd heard. They responded to a different, more deeply embedded message. As bizarre as it may sound to those whose minds have not been marinated in southern sensibilities, when Trump spoke of the right of the British people to secede from the European Union and taking control of their own future, his audience heard him speaking about the right to secede from the Union. And when he talked about declaring American independence and “recapturing our destiny”, his audience heard him talking about Southern independence and self-determination. Trump’s speech was not, as some would have it, the terminal gasp of a man clutching desperately at political straws. It was a remarkably sophisticated piece of political theater showing that, despite internal chaos and falling numbers in the polls, Trump campaign should not be underestimated.