The first step in defeating President-elect Donald Trump is correctly identifying how he won, and on this count, the left is already failing. In the aftermath of Trump’s victory, people on the left wrote and shared articles and commentary which deflected blame for Trump’s success off of his voters. They opted instead to blame liberal elites who failed to adequately address the political concerns of the working class, driving them into Trump’s arms. This take is inaccurate, and eludes the real reason behind his victory: white male racial and sexist backlash.

Pinning blame on the actions and attitudes of liberal elites assumes that the impetus for the white working class’s embrace of Trump was primarily a medley of anti-elitism and valid economic concerns. Anyone who watched Trump these past 17 months should know better. He started his campaign by calling Mexican immigrants rapists; he has repeatedly disparaged women with derogatory language, he has suggested that all Muslims are extremists, that blacks are simultaneously dangerous animals and hopeless victims and hinted that Jews comprise a shadowy cabal that controls the global economy. Bigotry is not incidental to Trump’s appeal — it is the only consistent part of it.

Moreover, Trump’s electoral support from whites of every income level demonstrates that colorblind “populist discontent” is not the thread that ties Trump voters together. That thread is race, and pretending otherwise is sophistry at its most elusive and dangerous.

This misdiagnosis matters because the left’s attempts to woo the white working class back into its coalition implicitly accepts the appeasement of anti-black policy. Too many leftists have pushed for outreach to the white working class without considering what that would actually look like. As history and present make blazingly clear, the white working class’s most notable collective policy preference is white tribalism. We saw this with the rise of the Know-Nothing Party in the mid 19th century, for example. Their successful inclusion requires obliging anti-black, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim policy. Even worse, understanding the stakes and attempting inclusion anyway would sacrifice the wellbeing of our already vulnerable non-white citizens. The only responsible path forward is rejecting romantic overtures to disaffected, white Trump supporters. Democrats must instead double down on anti-racism efforts and organize to repeal the legal and social conditions that artificially suppress the political clout of minorities.

Whereas the past half-century of politics have tried to reject overt racism in favor of quieter institutionalized versions, however Donald Trump has announced its presence with a bullhorn. Minimizing his victory isn’t just bad politics and it doesn’t just threaten future Democratic candidates. By attempting to include the white working class in their coalition, liberals are abandoning Americans who need help the most — the minorities oppressed by Trump and his followers.

Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, November 14th print edition. Email Matthew Perry at [email protected].