Podcast Summary: “How Southern Politics Shaped Trumpism”

Podcast: The Opinions (The New York Times Opinion)
Episode Date: October 18, 2025
Guests: David French (Host), Tressy McMillan Cottam, Jamelle Bouie

Main Theme Overview

This episode delves into how the culture, history, and political structures of the American South shaped “Trumpism”—the political movement organized around Donald Trump—and, more broadly, the direction of contemporary U.S. politics. Columnists David French, Tressy McMillan Cottam, and Jamelle Bouie draw on personal Southern backgrounds and academic insight to explore how Southern identity, economic models, race, migration, and party strategies intersect and reverberate at the national level.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Establishing “Southern Credentials” and the Episode’s Lens

• Each host shares their familial and personal ties to the South (01:05–04:40).
• Discussion includes friendly teasing and recognition of cultural differences within the South, affirming their authority to discuss these issues.

The Southern Roots of Trumpism

• David French recalls realizing Trump’s connection to the South:
  • “He’s a very familiar figure…Huey Long, George Wallace, Edwin Edwards…absolutely connecting at a very fundamental level with his audience.” (01:05–02:44)
• Tressy McMillan Cottam highlights Trump’s strategy:
  • Trump embedded himself in Southern ideas and iconography to control public attention, leveraging race and the question of “who is included and who is excluded” in American life (05:15–08:11).
  • The South becomes a “repository for the country’s difficult conversations,” particularly around race and national identity.

Southern Culture as a National Template

• Jamelle Bouie notes:

  • There’s been a “franchised” white Southern rurality that has spread to rural areas across America—“country music, pickup trucks… you see it in rural New Hampshire, rural Montana, rural Illinois.” (08:11–09:52)
  • The rest of America has long been fascinated with the South, with Hollywood and national narratives often romanticizing it.

• Tressy adds:

  • “We all get a little Southern when this nation is going fascist… we all want to consume the romantic version of the South.” (09:52–11:00)
  • Consuming selective aspects like food, music, football, or imagery helps people differentiate their own regions, even as Southern influence becomes a nationwide undertone.

Trump’s Appeal and Masculinity

• Jamelle Bouie on Trump’s persona:
  • “He presents himself as this perfect avatar of a kind of patriarchal masculinity…this image of patriarchal white masculinity, Southern masculinity—not an issue.” (11:00–12:19)
  • Trump’s appeal draws on deeply rooted Southern models of manhood and public life.

The Illusion of the “New South” & Economic Realities

• David French shares disappointment:

  • The South seemed to be moving past old hatreds, but “here comes Donald Trump and makes me rethink almost all of that…the new right now really is truly the old right.” (12:30–14:52)

• Tressy rebuts the “progress narrative”:

  • Economic progress has never been at odds with racial regression in the South—they are often symbiotic. (14:52–17:35)
  • Cites the Clinton era as a time of both Black prosperity in places like Atlanta and increasing police surveillance and inner-city displacement.

• Jamelle further argues:

  • The GOP’s economic agenda mirrors a Southern vision “of extraction, weak or no rights for labor…low wages, low services, low taxes for the privileged, domination of the political sphere.” (17:35–18:53)
  • “The first offshoring wasn’t to Mexico…it was to Alabama, Georgia…where labor protections aren’t in Tennessee.”

Migration to the South, Push and Pull Factors

• French observes:

  • “It’s not just that the politics of the South are so dominant…culture and economics…are growing more dominant as well…huge in-migration from other parts of country.” (19:36–21:12)

• Bouie explains:

  • Economic growth and cheap housing draw people from stagnant markets in the Northeast/West; homeownership dreams drive migration coupled with nationalized culture smoothing regional shifts. (21:12–22:16)

• Tressy adds:

  • These migrations don’t always improve outcomes for locals, who often remain stuck—mobility is limited for those born into Southern economic stagnation, even as populations and ideas transplant from elsewhere. (22:16–24:24)

Democratic Party’s Challenge in the South

• French asks what the Democrats can learn about Sun Belt migration and politics: (24:24–25:15)

• Bouie’s two points:

  1. Dems should facilitate easier housing development to “stem the bleeding.”
  2. Part of the South’s allure: “you have an opportunity to use your wealth…to dominate other people. You can have a big compound and boss people around…That aspect…can’t be answered by policy.” (26:22–28:08)
  • “There really is a competing vision of what the good life is…Parts of the South…offer one particular vision. Cultural thing is the cultural thing. That’s a struggle that’s not gonna happen in the realm of politics.”

• Tressy on Black Political Power:

  • “I can tell you what I think people are saying they need done for them…The Democratic Party has to negotiate with black political power…If you cannot sell your economic message in the South, you are not going to be able to win.” (28:08–30:50)
  • “Republicans play to the national impulse of grievance…because there is no local politics happening…that is serving them.”

The “Trust Deficit” and Building Local Power

• French wonders about candidate recruitment:

  • Why don’t Southern Dems run more moderate candidates?

• Tressy and Bouie respond:

  • Local Dems are often more progressive than the national party realizes—they propose radical (but popular) measures locally, but lack national/state support because of party brand perception. (31:30–32:55)

  • Bouie: “The desire for more moderate candidates is a shortcut to the trust question…The trust deficit is so deep that there’s no messaging along those lines that’s necessarily going to bridge that gap…you have to rebuild the party as a real local organization, delivering something for voters.” (32:55–35:31)

  • Missed potential in states like Mississippi: “making Mississippi competitive would be a huge blow to Republicans…redefining what the Democratic Party is.” (34:47–35:31)

  • “Vote for us because we’ve done something for you, and we’ll do something for you if you put us into office.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The most efficient way to control the public’s attention was to just hammer these ideas that I think are fundamentally Southern: race, the inherent character of the nation, and whose citizenship is always conditional.”
  — Tressy McMillan Cottam (05:15)

• “It’s both the case that the country will shunt its difficult conversations…about race to the south but…it has always been fascinated by the south in really important ways.”
  — Jamelle Bouie (08:11)

• “In this image of patriarchal white masculinity—Southern masculinity—not an issue.”
  — Jamelle Bouie, on Trump (11:00–12:19)

• “What I would argue is that those things [economic progress and racial regression] have always been compatible, not at odds. Slavery is an economic system.”
  — Tressy McMillan Cottam (14:52–17:35)

• “The first offshoring wasn’t to Mexico, wasn’t to Vietnam, it was to Alabama, to Georgia…”
  — Jamelle Bouie (18:36–18:53)

• “There really is a competing vision of what the good life is in the United States, and…the South offers one particular vision.”
  — Jamelle Bouie (27:40–28:08)

• “If you cannot sell your economic message in the South, you are not going to be able to win.”
  — Tressy McMillan Cottam (30:27–30:50)

• “The desire for more moderate candidates is a shortcut to the trust question. The trust deficit is so deep…you have to rebuild the party as a real local organization, delivering something for voters.”
  — Jamelle Bouie (32:55–34:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:05 – 04:40: Hosts establish Southern backgrounds
• 05:15 – 08:11: Tressy on Trump’s Southern strategy and the MYTH of national progress
• 08:11 – 09:52: Jamelle on the spread of “franchised” Southern rurality
• 11:00 – 12:19: Jamelle and Tressy dissect Trump’s patriarchal, Southern masculinity
• 14:52 – 17:35: Tressy challenges the idea of the New South and economic progress myths
• 17:35 – 18:53: Jamelle on GOP economic model rooted in Southern tradition
• 21:12 – 22:16: Jamelle explains reasons for migration to the South (housing, economics)
• 22:16 – 24:24: Tressy on mobility (or lack thereof) for native Southerners
• 25:15 – 28:08: Jamelle and Tressy on the limits of policy in competing with Southern culture
• 28:08 – 30:50: Tressy’s call for Democrats to reckon with Black political power and economic messaging
• 31:30 – 32:55: Tressy and Jamelle push back on the “run moderate Dems” narrative
• 32:55 – 35:31: Jamelle on the “trust deficit” and party-building through direct community benefit
• 34:47 – 35:31: What it would look like for Dems to compete in Mississippi

Tone and Style

The discussion is deeply analytical but lively, sprinkled throughout with wit, regional vernacular, and clear cultural pride and frustration. The hosts frequently reference national history, Southern myth versus reality, and offer both criticism and affection for the region. There's an undercurrent of urgency—about the stakes of current political trends and the complexity of addressing them.

Closing Segment: Recommendations

• Tressy: Rereading “Deacons of the Fence”—on armed resistance in the South (35:39).
• Jamelle: Listening to Duke Ellington’s “Black, Brown, and Beige” with Mahalia Jackson—“just sit with it” (36:02–37:09).
• David French: Recommends “A House of Dynamite,” a Kathryn Bigelow thriller film (37:09–37:53).

This episode is a rich exploration of how Southern political, economic, and cultural dynamics are not just regional quirks but foundational to the trajectory of national politics—especially in the Trump era. The hosts challenge simple narratives, stressing both the continuity and adaptation of Southern influence in American life and urging a more nuanced, locally grounded approach to political organizing and analysis.