A lot of Trump’s speech — and an even greater share of the emotional energy, since he seemed bored reciting misleading economic numbers — was devoted to lamenting a wave of violent crime by immigrants. Was this racist? Yes, of course. But saying that doesn’t capture the full evil of what he was doing (and I use the term “evil” advisedly).

For he wasn’t exaggerating a problem, or placing the blame on the wrong people. He was inventing a problem that doesn’t exist, and using that imaginary problem to demonize brown people.

Racist dog-whistles are, of course, nothing new in American politics. Indeed, much of the rise of the modern, far-right GOP rested on the politics of racial division, with even “respectable” Republicans perfectly willing to exploit racial fear and hostility — most famously, Bush the elder’s Willie Horton ad.

But here’s the thing: back in the 70s and 80s there really was a crime wave, and a lot of it did involve blacks. That’s no excuse for racism, let alone the cynical political exploitation of that racism. But at least the panic was about something real.