Why Rural America Turned on the Democratic Party | The Ezra Klein Show

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Democratic Party, rural urban divide, Chicago, civil war

Notable quotes from "Why Rural America Turned on the Democratic Party | The Ezra Klein Show"

• I think there's a particular lens worth using right now as we watch the Trump administration deploying the National Guard from red states into blue cities.

  about National Guard · at 0:00

• Overwhelmingly Republican. At that point, rural Americans are looking at the Democratic Party and they start to think of it as having a center that is affluent people, wealthy…

  about Democratic Party · at 1:32

• It begins with understanding it and taking seriously the resentments that fuel it. I think a lot of urban Democrats assume that what's at play in this rural urban divide is that rural white people are racist.

  about urban Democrats · at 2:19

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

Companies & orgs

• Democratic Party — Company · 3 mentions · first at 1:36
• National Guard — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:04

Concepts & topics

• rural urban divide — Concept · 2 mentions · first at 1:09
  So, how is this possible? It's possible because of the rural urban divide. It's possible because this us versus them politics has become so deep.
• radical left — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:27
  It seems that the ones that are run by the radical left Democrats, what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places, and we're going to straighten them out one by one. That's a.
• civil war — Concept · 1 mention · first at 0:45
  For years, I have been skeptical of warnings that America was at risk of a renewed civil war. There were all kinds of reasons to not take that particularly seriously. But when…
• us versus them politics — Concept · 1 mention · first at 1:11
  So, how is this possible? It's possible because of the rural urban divide. It's possible because this us versus them politics has become so deep.
• urban Democrats — Concept · 1 mention · first at 2:22
• immigrant — Concept · 1 mention · first at 2:49
  Prioritizing the needs of people in of color in urban communities and immigrants, but not really understanding or caring about rural people who are struggling as well.
• grievance politics — Concept · 1 mention
• people of color — Concept · 1 mention

Places & events

• Chicago — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:29
  It seems that the ones that are run by the radical left Democrats, what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places, and we're…
• San Francisco — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:29
  It seems that the ones that are run by the radical left Democrats, what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places, and we're…
• Los Angeles — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:32
  The radical left Democrats, what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places, and we're going to straighten them out one by one. That's a war, too. It's a war from within.
• New York, New York — Place · 1 mention · first at 0:32
  The radical left Democrats, what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places, and we're going to straighten them out one by one. That's a war, too. It's a war from within.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 I think there's a particular lens worth using right now as we watch the Trump administration deploying the National Guard from red states into blue cities. We are watching a rural political coalition militarily occupying urban centers. The Trump administration is doing this while describing these cities as something like enemy territory. They need to be liberated, taken back. It seems that the ones that are run by the radical left Democrats, what they've done to San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, they're very unsafe places, and we're going to straighten them out one by one. That's a war, too. It's a war from within.

0:41 For years, I have been skeptical of warnings that America was at risk of a renewed civil war. There were all kinds of reasons to not take that particularly seriously. But when I see troops being sent into cities over the objections of the people elected in those cities, of the people elected in those states, when I hear them talked about this way, I think you have to take those warnings more seriously now.

1:06 So, how is this possible? It's possible because of the rural urban divide. It's possible because this us versus them politics has become so deep. A massive rural urban divide has opened in our country's politics. Urban and rural voters used to vote pretty much in lock step. But then in the '90s that split. Urban voters became reliably Democratic and rural voters became overwhelmingly Republican. At that point, rural Americans are looking at the Democratic Party and they start to think of it as having a center that is um affluent people, wealthy people, people better off than themselves who are running the party and who don't seem to understand them or their communities, but they're creating policies that they're sort of foisting upon them in all sorts of different areas and they resent it. So that's when grievance begins to grow. We treat this as an inevitability in our politics, but it is

2:05 only a few decades old, and our political future and stability might rest on reversing it. Certainly, for the Democratic Party, any durable political power rests on reversing it. Now, reversing it isn't going to be easy, but it begins with understanding it and taking seriously the resentments that fuel it. I think a lot of urban Democrats assume that what's um at play in this rural urban divide is that rural white people are racist. And what we find is that it's not reducible to that. They're seeing that the Democratic Party, they're viewing the Democratic Party as really prioritizing the needs of people in of color in um urban communities and immigrants, but not really understanding or caring about rural people who are struggling as well.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Why Rural America Turned on the Democratic Party | The Ezra Klein Show"?

In order: 0:00 Democratic Party, rural urban divide, Chicago, civil war.

What is mentioned in this The Ezra Klein Show episode?

14 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Democratic Party, rural urban divide, National Guard, radical left, Chicago, San Francisco. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Why Rural America Turned on the Democratic Party | The Ezra Klein Show"?

The episode runs 3 min; the transcript is about 466 words in 4 timestamped sections.

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