How Dangerous is Trump's White Christian Nationalist Vision for the Country?

It's pub week for The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy, now in paperback.

Dear #WhiteTooLong readers,

Wow—Kamala Harris brought her A-game to the first face-off with Donald Trump last night (we shouldn’t really call it a “debate” given Trump’s incessant lying). I’ll have more to say about key moments that reveal deeper dynamics in a later post. For now, here are two moments I highlighted in real time on social media.

In addition to this week marking the real launch of the home stretch of the presidential campaign, it’s also publication week for my latest book, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future. Because of the support of readers like you, the hardcover debuted last year at #14 on the New York Times bestseller list. The paperback edition, now on shelves, contains a new Afterword that connects the long sweep of history in the book to the contemporary threat of white Christian nationalism we are facing in this election.

This launch week has been a busy week of interviews, and I wanted to share some highlights with you:

• I joined the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin on her excellent podcast, Jen Rubin’s Green Room, to talk about the real dangers of Trump’s white Christian nationalist vision, drawing on my book and on a new PRRI study on religion and authoritarianism entitled “One Leader Under God: The Connection Between Authoritarianism and Christian Nationalism in America,” which was just released this week. You can watch on YouTube here and listen the entire conversation on Apple podcasts here. Here’s an embedded preview:

• As part of a series on “Politics, Faith, and Mission” over at Baptist News Global, I joined my friend Greg Garrett for a written interview about my book, recent PRRI research, and the 2024 election.

• Michelle Goldberg interviewed me for this New York Times piece about Trump’s flip-flopping on abortion.

  

• ICYMI yesterday, TIME ran an excerpt from my book yesterday under the headline, “Trump’s Christian Nationalist Vision for America.”

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LIMITED TIME OFFER: Buy Hidden Roots before 9/14 and Get 25% Off a Paid Annual Newsletter Subscription

THE OFFER: If you’re not already a paid subscriber and buy a copy of Hidden Roots before the end of publication week (09/14), you can get 25% off a paid annual subscription to this newsletter. This discount is roughly the same value as the book, so it’s (well, sort of) like getting the book for free! Thanks so much to the dozens of you who have pre-ordered book and already taken advantage of this offer.

We’ll do this on the honor system. Just send me an email at robertpjones.substack@gmail.com confirming you’ve pre-ordered the book (hardcover, audiobook, or ebook), and I’ll send you a link to receive the discounted annual subscription.

Paid subscribers get access to the full newsletter archives and access to live events such as WTL Author Forums, where you get to hear about the story behind the book and ask questions of authors. We’ll have an exciting lineup of other authors all year, including:

• 10/30: Brad Onishi, author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism--and What Comes Next

• Date TBD: Sam Perry, author of Religion for Realists: Why We All Need the Scientific Study of Religion--Now More than Ever

• Date TBD: Amanda Tyler, author of How to End Christian Nationalism

• others coming soon!