Isolationism as a stream of thought was hibernating. It was rarely articulated, but passionately held, waiting for someone like Trump to lead it. Isolationists were called the silent majority in Richard Nixon's days — even though Nixon was an internationalist, who built a strong relationship with China. Trump knew how to exploit the silent majority's mix of racism, grievances and xenophobia. He appealed to the vast national community of chronic blamers, anxious to locate the cause of American problems in China, thereby executing a double play of racism and xenophobia.

Until Trump, no openly racist candidate in modern times has reached such a height in U.S. politics (August 5, 2016)