Donald Trump's win in the South Carolina primary confirms what many have long suspected: Stoking racial divides is the linchpin of Trump's campaign.

Trump cruised to victory in the Palmetto State with about 33 percent of the vote on Saturday night, while Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio battled it out for second place.

Trump won despite announcing his support this week for pillars of liberal philosophy: He touted his commitment to the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, the worst part of a law inspired by the Devil himself to most conservatives. (I should note Trump tried to walk back his remarks later, once he realized what he'd said.) He repeatedly admonished President George W. Bush for tricking the American people into invading Iraq.



Yet Trump still won, because his supporters don't love him for his conservatism. (In fact, he has about equal support among self-identified conservatives and self-identified moderates.) His supporters love what he says about race – because to Trump, it's white America versus everyone else.

Trump's lead in South Carolina is "built on a base of voters among whom religious and racial intolerance pervades," Public Policy Polling said this week. Seventy-six percent of Trump supporters either believe the South should have won the Civil War or aren't sure who should have won. A third believe practicing Islam in America should be outlawed and a full 80 percent support his ban on Muslims. Trump won the explicit endorsement of a group dedicated to restoring the Confederacy, and a pro-Cruz super PAC's idea of a negative attack was to broadcast that Trump supported the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse. Taken all together, the New Republic's Jeet Heer explained:

Think about Trump's policy positions. He's a classic dilettante, and as such basically has none – no specifics, anyway, besides building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and banning all Muslims from entering the country, including any Muslim-American citizens who happen to be abroad at the moment.



He kicked off his campaign by branding all Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers; his closing argument to South Carolinians was a (fake) story about a U.S. military officer going rogue and executing Muslim prisoners. The campaign's slogan promises to "make America great again" after the harm caused by America's first black president.

Look at his victory speech in South Carolina: "Our country doesn't win anymore. … We can't beat ISIS. … We don't win in trade. You look at what China is doing to us. What Japan does to us. What Mexico is just killing us at the border – at the border and with trade. Mexico is killing us absolutely. Don't worry, we're going to do the wall." In other words, it's us v. them and they're winning, but a President Trump will take "them" down a few notches.

Some believe that South Carolina was a tough state for Trump to win, due to its overwhelmingly evangelical population. I disagree. The state that holds the title of first state to secede was ready-made for Trump's message.

Of course, all this being said, Trump still only captured about one-third of the Republican vote – approximately the same he captured in New Hampshire. If the Republican establishment coalesces around one of the remaining candidates (RIP Jeb!), Trump's in trouble.

